Abstract: 

The ZnO@Cu₂O nanocomposites (50 mol% ZnO doped Cu₂O nanomaterials) and Cu₂O comparative nanomaterials were fabricated by hydrothermal method. The structural properties and characterization of the materials were investigated by physical measurement methods including: XRD, SEM/EDX and solid UV-vis spectra. The results showed that, the ZnO@Cu₂O nanocomposite consists of two crystals phase of ZnO wurtzite and Cu₂O octahedra with the molar ratio of ZnO doped into Cu2O as ~42 mol% (according to EDX spectra results). The ZnO@Cu₂O nanocomposite sample had an average crystal size determined according to Debye Scherrer of 16.09nm, which was smaller than the average crystal size of the Cu₂O comparative sample (22.02nm). The lattice parameters of the ZnO@Cu₂O nanocomposite and the comparative Cu₂O nano sample were in agreement with the references. The optical bandgap energy (Eg) of the ZnO@Cu₂O nanocomposite sample calculated by the Tauc equation was 2.65eV, reached an intermediate value between the Eg value of single-phase ZnO (3.37eV) and single-phase Cu₂O (~2.17eV), and still achieved the Eg value in the visible light excitation region.

Keywords: ZnO@Cu₂O nanocomposite, Cu₂O and ZnO nanoparticles, visible light radiation.