Synthesis and characterization of ZnO/CuO nanocomposite by electrochemical method

Electrochemical method has been utilized to synthesize zinc-copper nanocomposite using aqueous succinic acid as electrolyte solution. Both copper and zinc electrodes were used as anodes, kept on each side of cathode, which itself was made of zinc. Synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron micrograph (SEM), point energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis so as to determine its various physico-chemical characteristics. XRD analysis showed the incorporation of pure monoclinic copper oxide within hexagonal zinc oxide within ZnO/CuO which was further reaffirmed by point EDX analysis. EDX spectrum confirmed the presence of Cu, Zn and O elements in nanocomposite. SEM micrograph indicates that the obtained ZnO/CuO nanocomposite was in spherical morphology. Optical properties investigated by UV-DRS showed decrease in maximum reflectance (~22%) due to incorporation of CuO within ZnO nanoparticle. The electrochemical response of ZnO/CuO reveals higher electrochemical activity than pure ZnO, without any modification.