Optoelectronic properties of alumina–tin oxide nanocomposites deposited on 1d carbon backbone

Alumina–tin oxide nanocomposites deposited on 1D carbon backbone for solar cell and optoelectronic applications are synthesized by simple co-precipitation method. The nanocomposites are characterized by different techniques. The TEM image indicates that the prepared Al₂ O₃–SnO₂ nano-composites are deposited on 1D carbon backbone. The length of the nan-owire is in a few micrometers, and radius is of around 10 nm. The ele-mental analysis shows the presence of peaks due to Al, Sn, C and O. The average crystallite size of SnO₂ is found to be 5.185 nm from XRD analy-sis. Further, no peaks related Al₂ O₃ are detected indicating amorphous phase of Al₂ O₃ nanoparticles. Room-temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy of Sn–Al₂ O₃ nanowires reveals emission ranging from 410 nm to 540 nm comprising of multiple emission bands centred at 433 and 504 nm and additionally shoulder peaks at 445, 455, 478 and 488 nm. None of these bands corresponds to the band-gap of the material and, hence, should be due to different defect states within the band-gap. UV–Visible diffused reflectance studies reveal that the band-gap of the nanocompo-sites is of 4.23 eV. BET investigation shows that the specific surface area of the nanocomposites is of 130 m² ×g^-1 and pore volume is of 0.268 cm³×g^-1. The estimated high exciton-binding energy of alumina–tin oxide nanocomposites deposited on 1D carbon backbone is crucial in optoe-lectronic applications.