Performance tweaking of Co3O4 UV radiation detector via zirconium dopant microstructural and photo-electronic engineering

Abstract

Incorporation of dopant impurities in semiconducting metal oxide nanostructures has been presumed to increase the pace at which photo-induced holes and electrons separate due to possible bandgap engineering and oxygen vacancy modulations. In this study, we have adopted an electrodeposition technique using a three-electrode configuration for the preparation of Co3O4 thin film samples and investigated the effect of Zr as a dopant ion on the UV radiation sensing performance of nanostructured Co3O4 host material via energy band engineering and microstructural modulation. Consistency in optical energy band gap measurements of the deposited Zr-doped Co3O4 (Zr@Co3O4) was unveiled with the aid of two models: Tauc’s and absorption spectrum fitting (ASF) methods. Ag/Zr@Co3O4/ITO/glass UV radiation detector was fabricated and a sample with 3 % Zr-dopant content demonstrated high UV-365 nm detector performance: detectivity, 1.2 ×1011 Jones, and responsivity, 1818 mA W−1, with high cycling stability, attributable to the host's dopant microstructural tailoring, and the enhancement in its electronic charge carrier number and their scattering potentials within the host's band structure, thanks to the synergistic impacts of dopant ion incorporation and UV irradiation.