XRD structural studies on cobalt doped zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized by coprecipitation method: Williamson-Hall and size-strain plot approaches

Cobalt doped Zinc Oxide (Zn1-xCoxO) (x = 0.03) nanoparticles have been synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method at room temperature and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) study. The XRD pattern indicates that Co doped ZnO NPs are with hexagonal wurtzite geometry and diffraction peaks get shifted to higher angles which is the characteristic influence of dopant Co that has an ionic radius smaller than the host cation. The true values of lattice constants have been calculated using Nelson–Riley Function. Crystallite size calculated using Scherrer formula has been compared with that estimated by uniform deformation (UDM), uniform stress deformation (USDM) and uniform deformation energy density (UDEDM) models of Williamson – Hall method, and also by size-strain plot (SSP) method. The lattice strain has also been calculated. The surface morphology and elemental analysis of the product have been characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive (EDAX) spectra.