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The present study deals with synthesis of titanium doped zinc oxide (Ti:ZnO) nanoparticles (NP) using solid state reaction and subjected to vacuum annealing. The Ti doped ZnO nanoparticles were prepared at different titanium concentrations (Ti = 0%,1%, 3%, 5% & 7%) and studied the role of Ti on physical properties of the Ti:ZnO nanoparticles. The prepared titanium doped zinc oxide nanoparticles were subjected to various characterization techniques such as X-ray diffractometer (XRD), UV–Vis-spectrophotometer (UV–Vis–NIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Keithley source meter to study the structural, optical, surface, spectroscopic, elemental and electrical properties, respectively. From the XRD studies, it was found that the Ti:ZnO NP were in hexagonal structure with average crystallite size of 39 nm. The SEM images confirms the formation of the clusters in spherical shape. The EDAX spectrum confirms the presence of the host (Zn & O) and dopant (Ti) elements in the synthesized nanoparticles. The functional groups were confirmed from FT-IR spectrum. The valence states of the elements such as Ti, Zn and O were studied and found as Ti+3, Zn+2 and O−2. The electrical properties of the bulk Ti:ZnO NP were studied using Keithley source meter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]