ZnO/Ni(OH)2 core-shell nanoparticles: Synthesis, optical, electrical and photoacoustic property analysis

•Synthesis of ZnO/Ni(OH)2 core-shell hybrid nanoparticles was achieved by simple method.•Energy band gap is reduced from bulk state of 3.5 eV-3.3 eV during this hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles.•Small value of dielectric loss indicating that, the material possesses lesser number of electrically active defects.•Thermal diffusivity of the pellet sample is found to be 3.3 × 10−6 m2/s.

The optical and electrical properties of ZnO/Ni(OH)2 core-shell hybrid nanoparticles have been studied and reported here. The sample is prepared by hydrothermal method using a 100 ml Teflon lined stainless steel autoclave. ZnO nanoparticles are employed as core material for Ni(OH)2 seeds, and subsequent nucleated growth of Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles by cationic surfactant Cetyl Tri-methyl Ammonium Bromide (CTAB) formed the ZnO/Ni(OH)2 core-shell nanoparticles. The material was confirmed and immaculateness hexagonal wurtziite structure is analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction and the functional groups are identified by FTIR and FT-Raman analyses. The crystalline size, shape and surface morphology of the ZnO/Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles are determined by using FE-SEM. Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) analysis reveals the stability and particle size distribution of the synthesized ZnO/Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles. The optical absorbance wavelength observed at 354 nm has been shifted to 373 nm during hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles and 215 nm for ZnO/Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles. Energy band gap is reduced from bulk state of 3.5 eV-3.3 eV during this hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles. The electrical properties of ZnO/Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles have been studied by dielectric, ac conductivity measurements. Small value of dielectric constant and the dielectric loss shows the suitability of the material for electro-optic device fabrication. Thermal diffusivity of the pellet sample is calculated by photoacoustic technique and is found to be 3.3 × 10−6 m2/s.