Sol-Gel Synthesis, Characterization and Optical Properties of Bi3+-Doped CdO Sub-Micron Size Materials

Highly crystalline Bi3+-doped cadmium oxide (CdO) sub-micron structures were synthesized by calcination the obtained precursor from a sol-gel reaction. The reaction was carried out with cadmium nitrate (Cd(NO3)2.4H2O), bismuth nitrate (Bi(NO3)3.5H2O) and ethylene glycol (C2H6O2) reactants without any additives at 80°C for 2h. Resulting gel was calcined at 900 °C with increasing temperature rate of 15°C per minute for 12 h in a furnace. As a result of heating, the organic section of gel was removed and Bi3+-doped cadmium oxide micro structure was produced. The obtained compound from the sol-gel technique possesses a cubic crystalline structure at micro scale. Powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD) study indicated that the obtained Bi3+-doped CdO has a cubic phase. Also, SEM images showed that the resulting material is composed of particles with the average diameter of 1 μm. Also, UV–vis and FT-IR spectroscopies were employed to characterize the Bi3+-doped CdO micro structures.