Structural, optical and high pressure electrical resistivity studies of pure NiO and Cu-doped NiO nanoparticles

Abstract

In this paper, pure NiO and Cu-doped NiO nanoparticles are prepared by co-precipitation method. The electrical resistivity measurements by applying high pressure on pure NiO and Cu-doped NiO nanoparticles were reported. The Bridgman anvil set up is used to measure high pressures up to 8 GPa. These measurements show that there is no phase transformation in the samples till the high pressure is reached. The samples show a rapid decrease in electrical resistivity up to 5 GPa and it remains constant beyond 5 GPa. The electrical resistivity and the transport activation energy of the samples under high pressure up to 8 GPa have been studied in the temperature range of 273–433 K using diamond anvil cell. The temperature versus electrical resistivity studies reveal that the samples behave like a semiconductor. The activation energies of the charge carriers depend on the size of the samples.