Dual emissive Sn(1−2x) Cux Cox O2 nanostructures – A correlation study of doping concentration on structural, optical and electrical properties

•Cu2+ and Co2+ incorporated SnO2 nanoparticles were synthesized using wet chemical route.•Dopant effect on lattice parameters, strain and crystalline size variation is noticed.•Occurrence of Burstein Moss shift in doped samples was observed.•The dual emissive peak noticed for all concentration and its possible mechanism for the same is illustrated.•The possibility of p-type conduction observed at higher doping concentration.

A simplistic chemical co-precipitation route was adapted to synthesize Sn(1−2x) Cux Cox O2 (x = 0, 0.01 and 0.03) nanoparticles. The structural studies were carried out using X-ray diffraction pattern and the shift in diffraction peak, lattice constant and particle size with doping concentration was determined. The morphology of nanoparticles with an average size of 13–18 nm was observed using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. A significant increase in the absorption edge with an increase in doping concentration was observed using ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy. Further, the blue-shifted band gap value was plotted using Tauc’s relation. The near-band-edge emission at 3.9 eV and the deep-level-emission at 2.4 eV were systematically examined by photoluminescence spectroscopy. The dependence of doping concentration on temperature-reliant electrical conductivity was examined using DC electrical measurements. A meticulous exploration on diffraction peak shift, the Burstein-Moss shift, the mechanism for dual emission and the decreased electrical conductivity in Sn(1−2x) Cux Cox O2 nanostructures were further discussed.

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