Structural and optical studies of pure and Ni-doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by simple solution combustion method

Abstract

In this paper, the structural and optical studies of pure and Ni-doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by the simple solution combustion method are reported. The structural, morphological, and optical studies are carried out by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), high resolution-transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), Raman, ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption, and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The XRD pattern indicates that the prepared particles are in hexagonal wurtzite structure with the average crystalline size is around 30–60 nm. The elemental analyses of pure and doped samples are evaluated by energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). Raman spectra of the pure and Ni-doped samples show remarkable effect on the polar as well as non-polar branches. Room temperature PL shows the near band edge related emission and the results are related to several intrinsic defects in the Ni-doped ZnO nanoparticles. Especially the oxygen vacancies are responsible for the long life time of the carriers.