CHROMIA (CR2O3) NANOPARTICLES SYNTHESIZED BY USING CRO3 VIA THE FACILE SOLVOTHERMAL PROCESS AND THEIR OPTICAL PROPERTIES

Chromia (Cr₂O₃) nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized via the facile solvothermal process, by using CrO₃ in butanol and propanol as solvents. The functional groups of the samples were tested by the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The as-synthesized nanoparticle sizes are calculated and confirmed to be 34 and 40 nm, by using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The morphology of the samples was observed by the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The measured band gap energies (E_g= 4.04 and 3.66 eV) higher than that of bulk Cr₂O₃ and increased with decreasing particles size, which indicated that the particles had been successfully synthesized in the nano region, and measured by Ultra-Violet visible (UV-vis) absorption spectroscopy. The broad visible emission at ~397 nm, in the photoluminescence spectroscopy revealed the high purity and perfect crystallinity of the samples.)