Synthesis and characterization of β-Ag2Se and β-AgCuSe nanoparticles via facile precipitation route

β-Ag2Se and β-AgCuSe nanoparticles were synthesized using AgCl precursor instead of conventional AgNO3 by simple precipitation method. It was found that orthorhombic structures were obtained for both β-Ag2Se and β-AgCuSe nanoparticles. The result shows Ag2S as impurity while increasing the concentration of AgCl. Moreover, the microstructural images show polyhedral- and pebble-like particles. The band gap energy is increased for β-Ag2Se owing to small crystallite size. The AgCl precursor can effectively produce pure nanoparticles. Hence, it is interesting in terms of identification of potential precursor for synthesizing β-Ag2Se and β-AgCuSe nanoparticles.