Nowadays, BaAl2O4 grab a huge attention towards the technological applications such as optoelectronic devices, catalyst, sensors etc. Therefore, in this study, the BaAl2O4 nanomaterial was synthesized through a sol–gel chemical technique. The structural properties, functional group and optical characteristics of products were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) analysis. The experimental result shows that BaAl2O4 nanomaterial exhibits hexagonal spinel structure without other impurity phases confirmed by Rietveld refinement using Fullprof Software. The extended functions of Fullprof Software were used to simulate the crystal structure and electron density of the material. The Williamson Hall method and the modified Debye–Scherrer relation were used to determine the crystallite size and microstrain. The error in these measurements has reduced with the use of the modified Debye–Scherrer relation. Further, the band gap, 3.4 eV was estimated through the Tauc analysis done by UV–vis spectroscopy. Vibrational modes F2g, Eg and A1g was observed in the Raman spectra which belongs to four discrete peaks observed at 242 cm−1, 409 cm−1, 574 cm−1, 818 cm−1. The acquired band gap, high PL intensity and decay time make this material suitable for the range of photonic applications.