Study on structural and optical behaviors of In₂O₃ nanocrystals as potential candidate for optoelectronic devices

Pure indium oxide (In₂O₃) nanoparticles was synthesized by an inexpensive and solid state reaction method using indium nitrate in muffle furnace at 400 °C for 4 h. The synthesized product was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, FT-Raman, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), photoluminescence (PL) and UV–Vis spectroscopy. XRD pattern confirmed the crystalline nature and cubic structure of synthesized composition. Crystallite size, microstrain and dislocation density were evaluated from the XRD data. The functional groups present in the sample were identified by FT-IR spectroscopy. The vibrational modes of the product were investigated by FT-Raman spectrum. The microstructure and elemental identification were done by SEM with EDX analysis. The HR-TEM image depicts the morphology and size of the prepared nanoparticles. The blue shift in the absorption edge was observed from the UV–Vis spectrum. The PL spectrum showed two emission peaks corresponding to blue emission.