A review on rare earth (Ce and Er)-doped zinc oxide nanostructures

Abstract

Diverse nanostructures of ZnO are one of the most studied materials. ZnO nanostructures possess several favourable properties such as good transparency, strong room-temperature luminescence, high electron mobility, wide band gap, chemical and photochemical stability, etc. These properties make them an interesting material for using in new light-emitting devices, solar cells, bio-sensors and as photocatalysts. They are generally of very low toxicity. ZnO nanostructures are an emerging material for next-generation. Doping is considered an effective way to enhance the properties of ZnO for various applications. In this framework, the doping of RE ion in ZnO is of great importance due to signs of tuneable luminescence and ferromagnetism at room temperature. RE ions are extensively used as activators in different host materials due to their high fluorescence efficiencies and very narrow line fluorescence bands. The ferromagnetism property of RE doped ZnO nanostructures is another such property which has drawn a great interest. These nanostructures find applications in magneto-optical device applications i.e. communications, storage, quantum computation etc. This review provides an overall study of the synthesis of Ce and Er doped ZnO nanostructures from various methods, and their properties and applications in different fields of industry.