Structure, functional groups, and optical properties of Al doped ZnO nanorods thin films

Abstract

Zinc oxide (ZnO) in the form of thin films is a semiconductor that has a direct energy gap of 3.37 eV and an exciton binding energy of 60 meV. These attractive properties make ZnO widely used as a transparent conducting material application in liquid crystal displays, solar cells, etc. Undoped and doped ZnO thin films are widely used in transparent conductor layers due to their better thermal resistance and resistance. In this study, thin films of Al doped ZnO (Zn1-xAlxO) nanorods (x = 1 wt% and 3 wt%) were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The effect of Al doping on microstructure, binding vibration, and optical properties was characterized by XRD (X-Ray Diffraction), SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra Red) and UV–Vis (Ultraviolet–visible light) Spectroscopy. Furthermore, the (002) peak of ZnO was shifted because of Al doped ZnO. The diameter of hexagonal is around 78 nm. The binding vibrations found are Zn-O (531, 512, 985, 911 cm−1), Al-O (812 cm−1), Zn-hydroxyl group (1132, 1107 cm−1), CH3 group (2167, 2837, 2861 cm−1), and the hydroxyl group (3560, 3547 cm−1). The energy gap had a moderate drop from 2.97 eV to 2.95 eV.