Synthesis and characterization of NiO nanoparticles by thermal decomposition of nickel linoleate and their optical properties

Well dispersed nickel oxide nanoparticles have been synthesized successfully by direct calcination of nickel linoleate. The structure, morphology and properties of the nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopic studies show that nickel oxide nanoparticles are uniform with an average size of 14–20 nm. The optical band gap of 3.8 eV is obtained using UV–Visible spectroscopy which exhibits the red shift compared with the bulk counterpart.

► Synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles by using metal complexes as precursors.
► Characterization of isolated nanoparticles using XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM and HRTEM data.
► The expected optical properties of these nanoparticles are clarified.