Improved Morphological, Structural, and Optical Features of ErxCuNiO3 {x= 0, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9}

To synthesize ErCuNiO3, a 0.1 M solution of copper nitrate trihydrate (Cu(NO3)2·3H2O), nickel (II) nitrate hexahydrate Ni(NO3)2·6H2O, and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) were used. The (111) diffraction peak reveals the crystallization of the synthesized material. The presence of erbium in the CuNiO3 lattice enhances the structure of the synthesized material, resulting in increased diffraction peaks. The synthesized ErCuNiO3 reveals a cubic structure with diffraction peaks of (111), (101), (104) (112), (211), (222), and (311) corresponding to 2theta angle of 26.512o, 30.778o, 32.054o, 33.775o, 37.726o, 43.966o, and 44.989o, respectively. Introducing erbium into the lattice of the synthesized material results in an increase in the nanoparticle's size, increasing the surface area of the material. This increase in surface area enhances the material's photovoltaic activities. As the molar concentration of the material increases, the synthesized ErCuNiO3 film exhibits a decrease in its indirect bandgap energy, which shifts from 1.50 eV to a range of 1.35-1.18 eV. The film exhibited a decrease in electrical conductivity, from 9.77 to 5.78 S/m, as its thickness increased from 107.00 to 115.35 nm, leading to an increase in resistivity from 10.23 to 17.35 ῼ.cm.