Cd-doped NdFeO3 nanoparticles: synthesis and optical properties study

This work reports the structure and optical properties of Cd-doped NdFeO3 nanoparticles synthesized by the simple co-precipitation method without introduction of surfactants. Structural phase formation of the crystal shows orthorhombic planes of all samples (Nd1-xCdxFeO3; x = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3). The average crystal size and unit-cell volume increased with the dopant concentration (D-XRD = 34.8-54.8 nm; V = 234.96-235.02 angstrom(3)). The obtained Cd-doped NdFeO3 nanoparticles have higher absorption in the visible region (lambda = 400-800 nm) than in the UV range (lambda = 250-400 nm) and the bandgap value (E-g = 2.36-2.28 eV) is much lower than similar rare-earth perovskite series such as HoFe1-xNixO3, LaFe1-xTixO3, NdFe1-xNiyO3 synthesized by different methods. The excellent optical properties of Cd-doped NdFeO3 nanomaterials give a great potential for applications related to optics.