Investigation of Nanostructured NiO and Au Doped NiO Thin Films by SPT

Abstract Nanostructured Nickel oxide (NiO) and NiO doped with 2% and 4% Au were prepared via spray pyrolysis technique (SPT). Structure, surface morphology, and optical properties were evaluated via XRD, AFM and UV-VIS spectrometer. Results indicate that all thin films polycrystalline and the peaks at 37.28° and 43.29° corresponding to (111), (200). The AFM image shows average diameter 73.5nm and average roughness 0.76 nm. Optical measurements show the band gap decrease with increase doping of Au thin films (2.88, 2.75 and 2.39) eV.