Influência dos íons Cu2+ nas propriedades ópticas dos pós de (Ca1-x Cux)TiO3 preparados por métodos químicos ; Influence of Cu2+ ions in the optical properties of (Ca1-xCux)TiO3 powders synthesized by chemical soft methods

The influence of Cu2+ doping as well as the preparation methods on the structural, morphological and optical properties of (Ca1-xCux)TiO3 powders with (x= 0; 0,01; 0,02; 0,04 and 0,10) of Cu2+ were studied in this work. The copper ions has been chose to replace the A site in the CaTiO3 perovskite, by the fact that structural defects related to covalent character of Cu-O linkages are created in the CaTiO3 crystalline structure. This effect is able to change the polarization or charge density of CaO12 and TiO6 clusters in the matrix, influencing its optical properties. The studied systems were synthesized by the microwave assisted hydrothermal method (HM) and Polymeric precursor method (PPM). These powders were structurally and morphologically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rietveld refinement, micro-Raman (MR) spectroscopy, volumetric gas adsorption of Brunauer, Emmett e Teller (BET) method and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Finally, their optical properties were investigated by ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. XRD patterns, Rietveld refinement indicated that these crystals present a perovskite-type CaTiO3 orthorhombic structure and space group Pbnm. MR spectroscopy indicated the presence of strtuctural defects which are associated to the introduction of Cu2+ ions in the A site of the perovskite.The presence of structural defects which are able to modify the polarization and/or charge density into the lattice, influencing its optical properties. Moreover, the reduction in band gap (Egap) observed for these systems is also related to them. The defects and distortions into lattice at medium- and short-range on the [CaO12]/[TiO6] clusters promotes the structural order-disorder responsible for the intense PL properties of these systems. The powders morphology are also influenced by the experimental procedure employed in the systems preparation. These materials are promising candidates for future applications in optical devices. ...