Synthesis, characterization, PL properties, photocatalytic and antibacterial activities of nano multi-metal oxide NiO⋅CeO2⋅ZnO.

A novel multi-metal nanocomposite, NiO⋅CeO2⋅ZnO has been prepared by co-precipitation of their carbonates from aqueous solutions of the metal nitrates following calcination and annealing 5 h at 450°C and 10 h at 950°C. NiO⋅CeO2⋅ZnO has been characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, IR and PL spectra. The crystallite size of the as-synthesized sample varies in the range of 14-23 nm and those of the annealed sample in the range of 17-50 nm. Emissions of NiO⋅CeO2⋅ZnO have been observed in UV (NBE emission) and visible region at different excitations. Excitation wavelength dependent PL behavior of NiO⋅CeO2⋅ZnO has been observed in acetone at room temperature. This PL property is in disagreement with Kasha's rule of excitation wavelength dependence of emission spectrum. Photocatalytic as well as anti-bacterial activities were studied.