Optical properties of nanocrystalline HfO2 synthesized by an auto-igniting combustion synthesis

The optical properties of nanocrystalline HfO2 synthesized using a single-step auto-igniting combustion technique is reported. Nanocrystalline hafnium oxide having particle size of the order 10–15 nm were obtained in the present method. The nanopowder was characterized using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared and Fourier transform Raman spectroscopic studies. All these studies confirm that the phase formation is complete in the combustion synthesis and monoclinic phase [P21/c(14)] of HfO2 is obtained without the presence of any impurities or additional phases. The powder morphology of the as-prepared sample was studied using transmission electron microscopy and the results were in good agreement with that of the X-ray diffraction studies. The optical constants such as refractive index, extinction coefficient, optical conductivity and the band gap were estimated from UV–vis spectroscopic techniques. The band gap of nanocrystalline HfO2 was found to be 5.1 eV and the sample shows a broad PL emission at 628 nm. It is concluded that the transitions between intermediate energy levels in the band gap are responsible for the interesting photoluminescent properties of nanocrystalline HfO2.