STRUCTURAL, OPTICAL AND PHOTOCONDUCTIVITY CHARACTERISTICS OF SnO2-ZnS NANOCOMPOSITE SYNTHESIZED BY A HYDROTHERMAL METHOD

SnO2-ZnS nanocomposite was successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method utilizing tin chloride dihydrate, sodium hydroxide, zinc sulphate heptahydrate and sodium sulphide as precursors. The as-synthesized SnO2-ZnS nanocomposite was characterized by powder X-Ray diffraction for determining the crystalline structure and grain size, the optical properties of the product and band gap energy were studied by UV- visible absorption spectroscopy. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was also studied. SEM revealed the surface morphology of the sample and the electrical properties were confirmed by dielectric and photoconductivity studies.