SILAR derived CdO films: Effect of triethanolamine on the surface morphology and optical bandgap energy

Highlights: • We synthesized nanostructured CdO films without and with TEA as a surfactant agent by using SILAR method. • The influences of TEA concentration on the surface topography of CdO samples are investigated. • Crystalline properties and bandgap energies of CdO nanostructures were notably changed depending on the TEA concentration. - Abstract: Nanostructured CdO films have been successfully synthesized with different ratios of surfactant triethanolamine (TEA) under SILAR condition. The influence of addition of TEA on the physical properties of CdO nanoparticles was studied. The surface morphology of the films was studied by metallurgical microscope and SEM analysis. Surface topography of the film was studied by AFM. The structural properties of the samples were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD studies confirm that the deposited CdO films has cubic structure (111) preferred orientation with well-crystallinity and purity. The optical bandgap energy was estimated based on the UV–vis spectroscopies which were obtained in the range of 2.16 eV–2.46 eV. Our study is encouraging to get enhanced surface topography by surfactant TEA.