Impact of Mn and Cd Ion Doping on the Structural and Dielectric Properties of Ternary Zn 0.94 Tm 0.01 Cu 0.05 O (tm = Mn, Cd) Metal Oxide

This study explored the structural and dielectric features of Zn0.94Tm0.01Cu0.05O (Tm = Mn, Cd) nanoparticles that were synthesized by the sol–gel auto-combustion method. With a modest amount of CuO phase, the single phase of nanoparticles has been confirmed for all samples. The Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirms the hexagonal structure with the P63cm space group. Co-doping causes a decrease in crystallite size and a little improvement in unit cell volume when compared to Zn0.95Cu0.05O. The Raman spectra of the two samples are remarkably similar which supports the XRD results. The co-doping affected the formation of oxygen vacancies which alter its electrical characteristics and lowered the bandgap energy from 3.25 eV to 3.1 eV. This tuning of bandgap without much affecting the structural stability promises the application in stabilizing solar cells. Additionally, we noted the co-doping of Mn and Cd ion in Zn0.95Cu0.05O decreases the dielectric constant. Hence, it is potential candidate to minimize the power loss at high frequency and power applications. The hopping mechanism accounts for the rise in ac conductivity with frequency in the specified frequency range.