Evaluation of the Structural Deviation of Cu/Cu₂O Nanocomposite Using the X-ray Diffraction Analysis Methods

Abstract

We successfully synthesized Cu/Cu2O nanocomposites using the wet chemical synthesis method. All X-ray diffraction (XRD), Reference Intensity Ratio (RIR), and Rietveld refinement methods confirmed that the compounds Cu and Cu2O are free of impurities. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show the morphology and interactions of Cu and Cu2O in the structure. The formation mechanism is also explained by five stages: precursor, nucleation, growth, aging, and reduction. The changes in crystallization parameters under variations in reaction temperature (Tv) and stirring speed (Sv) were confirmed by agreement with the XRD database. The lattice constant in the crystal of nanocomposite increases with rising temperature in the reaction, leading to unit cell expansion, while increasing the stirring—rate leads to a random size distribution of the lattice parameter. Due to the imperfect growth of the crystal, the induced crystallite size was calculated using the Williamson-Hall model, and the precise lattice parameter values were calculated using the Nelson-Riley function.

Keywords

• crystallization parameters
• Cu/Cu₂O nanocomposite
• Nelson-Riley function
• Williamson-Hall
• X-ray diffraction