Visible emission from Ce-doped ZnO nanorods grown by hydrothermal method without a post thermal annealing process

Yong-Il Jung,Bum-Young Noh,Young-Seok Lee,Jae Hyun Kim,Il-Kyu Park,Seong-Ho Baek

doi:10.1186/1556-276x-7-43

Abstract

Visible light-emitting Ce-doped ZnO nanorods [NRs] without a post thermal annealing process were grown by hydrothermal method on a Si (100) substrate at a low temperature of 90°C. The structural investigations of Ce-doped ZnO NRs showed that the Ce3+ ions were successfully incorporated into the ZnO lattice sites without forming unwanted Ce-related compounds or precipitates. The optical investigation by photoluminescence spectra shows that the doped Ce3+ ions in the ZnO NRs act as an efficient luminescence center at 540 nm which corresponds to the optical transition of 5d → 4f orbitals in the Ce3+ ions. The photoluminescence intensity of the Ce-doped ZnO NRs increased with the increasing content of the Ce-doping agent because the energy transfer of the excited electrons in ZnO to the Ce3+ ions would be enhanced by increased Ce3+ ions.

Highlights

Zinc oxide [ZnO] nanostructures have received much attention due to their remarkable performance in electronic, piezoelectric, thermoelectric, and optoelectronic applications [1]
Ce-doped ZnO NRs were grown on Si substrates by using the hydrothermal method
The structural properties investigated by FE-SEM, EDS, and XRD showed that the Ce3+ ions are successfully incorporated into the ZnO lattice sites; the growth of ZnO NRs was not influenced by the doping of Ce atoms because the molar content of the dopant was too small an amount to change the morphology, and the dopant agent provided Ce3+ ions for doping

Summary

Introduction

Zinc oxide [ZnO] nanostructures have received much attention due to their remarkable performance in electronic, piezoelectric, thermoelectric, and optoelectronic applications [1]. After cleaning the Si substrate by acetone, methanol, HF, and deionized [DI] water, a seed layer for the ZnO NRs was formed by dipping the. Structural characterizations The structural properties of Ce-doped ZnO NRs were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy [FE-SEM], energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy [EDS], and X-ray diffraction [XRD] with an excitation source of Cu Ka radiation. Optical characterizations The optical properties of Ce-doped ZnO NRs were investigated by photoluminescence [PL] spectra which were measured by using a 24-mW power 325-nm continuous He-Cd laser at room temperature. The laser was focused onto the sample surface by an objective lens; the excitation area was estimated to be about 400 μm in diameter

Results and discussion

Conclusions

Wang ZL