Variation in Structural, Electrical and Optical Properties of Selenium Nanowires After Irradiation with Ni6+ Ions

The effect of Ni ion irradiation on selenium nanowires of 80 nm diameter is studied in the present work. Se nanowires were prepared by using electrodeposition technique in polycarbonate membrane. Changes in the structural, optical and electrical properties are studied using XRD, UV/Vis spectroscopy and current–voltage characteristics, of the pristine and irradiated samples. X-ray diffraction study confirms the variation in peak intensity without any shifting in peak position. Variation in texture coefficient and grain size was clearly observed which is a consequence of changing plane orientation, irradiation induced grain growth and grain fragmentation. A decrease in the optical band gap takes place due to interstitial energy band states in the vicinity of conduction and valence band. IVC also shows variation in the conductivity which is due to the generation of current carriers with the passage of energetic ions.