Please cite this article in press as: S. Sonia, et al., Influence of growth and photocatalytic properties of copper selenide (CuSe) nanoparticles using reflux condensation method, Appl. Surf. Sci. (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2013.07.022 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model APSUSC-25996; No. of Pages 6 Applied Surface Science xxx (2013) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Applied Surface Science j ourna l ho me page: www.elsevier.com/locate/apsusc Influence of growth and photocatalytic properties of copper selenide (CuSe) nanoparticles using reflux condensation method S. Sonia a , P. Suresh Kumar b , D. Mangalaraj a,∗ , N. Ponpandian a , C. Viswanathan a a Department of Nanoscience and Technology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046, India b Thin Film and Nanomaterials Laboratory, Department of Physics, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046, India a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 19 April 2013 Received in revised form 24 June 2013 Accepted 6 July 2013 Available online xxx Keywords: CuSe Reflux condensation Nanoparticles Photo degradation a b s t r a c t Influence of reaction conditions on the synthesis of copper selenide (CuSe) nanoparticles and their photo degradation activity is studied. Nearly monodispersed uniform size (23–44 nm) nanoparticles are synthe- sized by varying the reaction conditions using reflux condensation method. The obtained nanoparticles are characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and UV–visible absorption spectroscopy. The X-ray diffraction analysis of the sample shows the formation of nanoparticles with hexagonal CuSe structure. The result indicates that on increasing the reaction time from 4 to 12 h, the particle size decreases from 44 to 23 nm, but an increase in the reac- tion temperature increases the particle size. The calculated band gap E g is ranging from 2.34 to 3.05 eV which is blue shifted from the bulk CuSe (2.2 eV). The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the CuSe nanoparticles on two organic dyes Methylene blue (MB) and Rhodamine-B (RhB) in aqueous solution under UV region is calculated as 76 and 87% respectively. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In recent decades, hazardous environmental problems, arises from industries and modernization of the living hoods which glob- ally affects the reusage of water and increases the demand for clean water. Among many wastewater treatment methods espe- cially for the removal of organic contaminants, heterogeneous photocatalytic process using different nanostructures has received a considerable attention because of its low-cost and inert nature of the catalyst [1]. It is well known that the photocatalytic reac- tion on the surface of a semiconductor is initiated by electron and hole generation that produce hydroxyl ( • OH) and superoxide ( • O2-) radicals for decomposition of organic pollutant in water. So far dif- ferent Nanostructured materials like ZnO, TiO 2 , SnO 2 , and CuO have received considerable attention due to its increase in surface areas than that of bulk materials and have been significantly investigated for both energy and environmental applications. The semiconduct- ing photocatalysts are environmental catalysts that can efficiently degrade hazardous chemicals which have been extensively used worldwide to solve environmental issues [2–6]. As an important p-type semiconductor, Copper selenide (CuSe) is a unique metal chalcogenide that found in many phases and structural forms with different stoichiometries such as CuSe, Cu 2 Se, Cu 2 Se x , CuSe 2 , -Cu 2 Se, Cu 3 Se 2 , Cu 5 Se 4 and Cu 7 Se 4 as well with ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 422 2425458; fax: +91 422 2422387. E-mail address: dmraj800@yahoo.com (D. Mangalaraj). non-stoichiometric form such as Cu 2–x Se and can be constructed into several crystallographic forms (monoclinic, cubic, tetragonal and hexagonal). Therefore, considerable progress on the study of CuSe has been made in recent years due to its fascinating properties and wide applications in solar cells, gas sensors, ther- moelectric converters etc. Metal chalcogenide materials such as ZnSe, CuS, CuS/ZnS and CuSe modified TiO 2 have been directly used as photocatalysts due to their fascinating properties [7–10]. Among these, Cu 2–x Se nanocrystals show efficient photocatalytic activity (50% with irradiation time of 2 h) towards the photodegra- dation of RhB aqueous solution under visible light due to its wide bandgap [11]. Among the assorted metal chalcogenides, CuSe is a p-type semiconductor with wide range of stoichiometric as well as non-stoichiometric compositions and also with various crystallo- graphic forms for each of these compositions [12]. The synthesis of different nanostructures has been depicted in different methods including SILAR process, solution growth technique, brush elec- troplating, chemical bath deposition, chemical vapor deposition, pulsed laser deposition, thermal evaporation, solid state reaction, galvanic synthesis, solution phase synthesis and electrospinning method [13–23]. Recently, nanodendrites, nanocrystals, hollow nanostructures and nanoplates of metal chalcogenides have been synthesized by environmental friendly solvothermal method, one- pot solution, and aqueous solution method respectively [24–27]. Hydrothermal or solvothermal synthesis is a well-known low- temperature wet chemical process and it promises the direct preparation of advanced nanostructures. But the reflux condensa- tion method provides highly crystalline materials with high purity, 0169-4332/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2013.07.022