Facile synthesis of Ag/ZnO microstructures with enhanced photocatalytic activity

In this paper, we developed a facile low-temperature solution route to prepare radical-shaped ZnO microprisms and to deposit metal silver on the surface of ZnO to form Ag/ZnO microstructures. The samples were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Experimental results show that the deposition of metal Ag nanospecies can be achieved successfully by simply aging the solution at 75 °C, and the radical-shaped microstructures of ZnO are well maintained. The Ag/ZnO microstructures exhibit much lower PL emission intensity and much higher photocatalytic activity than those of radical-shaped ZnO microprisms.     

Fabrication of flower-like ZnO microstructures from ZnO nanorods and their photoluminescence properties

In the present work, we reported a novel method for the synthesis of well-dispersed flower-like ZnO microstructures derived from highly regulated, well-dispersed ZnO nanorods by using low temperature (100 °C) hydrothermal process and without using any additional surfactant, organic solvents or catalytic agent. The phase and structural analysis were carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD) which confirms the high crystal quality of ZnO with hexagonal (wurtzite-type) crystal structure. The morphological and structural analyses were carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) which indicate the formation of well-dispersed ZnO nanorods as well as flower-like ZnO. It has been shown that flower-like ZnO is made up of dozen of ZnO nanorods building block units. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and their corresponding selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern show that both ZnO nanorods and flower-like ZnO microstructures are single crystalline in nature and preferentially grow along [0 0 0 1] direction. Their optical property was characterized by photoluminescence spectroscopy; shows ZnO nanorods have only violet emission and no other emission while flower-like ZnO microstructures have a weak violet emission and a strong visible emission. A plausible growth mechanism of ZnO nanorods as well as flower-like ZnO microstructures has been given.     

Temperature induced hierarchical growth of ZnO microcrystal

Unique ZnO microcrystal composed of hierarchical nanorod arrays was successfully prepared by a surfactant-free process in aqueous solution under moderate temperature. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The as-prepared ZnO microstructures are of hexagonal phase and high purity. On the basis of SEM images and parallel experiments, a possible formation mechanism for this ZnO microcrystal with hierarchical nanorod arrays is proposed and the reaction temperatures are found to have great influence on inducing secondary nucleation and the hierarchical growth. In addition, the optical properties of the ZnO samples were also investigated by the photoluminescence (PL) spectrometer.     

A study of structural, optical and magnetic properties of Cr, Ce co-doping in ZnO diluted magnetic semiconductors

We present the structural, optical and magnetic properties of pure ZnO, Zn_0.97Cr_0.03O and Zn_0.96Cr_0.03Ce_0.01O samples, the samples were synthesized by sol–gel method. The microstructures, optical and magnetic properties of samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope , X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), Raman spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer. XRD and XPS data confirmed the formation of a single phase wurtzite type ZnO structure for all the samples. PL measurements revealed that all the three samples had an UV emission and a defect emission, and the Ce ions doping induced a red shift in the UV emission and an increase in the defect emission. Zn_0.97Cr_0.03O and Zn_0.96Cr_0.03Ce_0.01O samples showed the obvious hysteresis loops at room temperature and the saturation magnetization (Ms) increases with incorporating of Ce.     

Sol–gel assisted hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO microstructures: Morphology control and photocatalytic activity

ZnO microstructures of different morphologies were synthesized by the sol–gel assisted hydrothermal method using Zn(NO₃)₂, citric acid and NaOH as raw materials. Twining-hexagonal prism, twining-hexagonal disk, sphere and flower-like ZnO microstructures could be synthesized only through controlling the pH of the hydrothermal reaction mixture at 11, 12, 13 and 14, respectively. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM). Optical properties were examined by UV–Vis absorption/diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and room-temperature photoluminescence measurements (PL). Photocatalytic activities of the samples were evaluated by degradation of Reactive Blue 14 (KGL). The results indicated that the flower-like ZnO composed of nanosheets possessed superior photocatalytic activity to other ZnO microstructures and commercial ZnO, which could be attributed to the morphology, surface defects, band gap and surface area. The formation mechanisms of different ZnO morphologies were also investigated based on the experimental results.     

High quality ZnO/CuO nanocomposites synthesized by microwave assisted reaction

Highly crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) and ZnO/CuO nanocomposite powders have been synthesized by a facile microwave irradiation method. The resulting powders were characterized in terms of structural, optical and morphological properties by X-ray diffraction (XRD), room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. XRD patterns revealed the formation of ZnO/CuO nanocomposites with good crystalline quality. SEM images displayed the formation of hexagonal ZnO and flower shaped agglomeration of ZnO/CuO nano-flakes with uniform production. The strong UV emission peak observed at around 380 nm show enhanced intensity for ZnO/CuO nanocomposite. Compared to ZnO nanoparticles, ZnO/CuO composites exhibit good transparency with sharp absorbance edges. The simplicity of synthesis route coupled with better optical and PL emission properties propose the microwave synthesized ZnO/CuO nanocomposite powders a promising material for optoelectronic devices.     

Growth and characterization of indium phosphide nanowires on transparent conductive ZnO:Al films

The epitaxial growth of indium phosphide nanowires (InP NWs) on transparent conductive aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) thin films is proposed and demonstrated. ZnO:Al thin films were prepared on quartz substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering, then InP NWs were grown on them by plasma enhanced metal organic chemical vapor deposition with gold catalyst. Microstructure and optical properties of InP nanowires on ZnO:Al thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectric spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy at room temperature. SEM shows that randomly oriented and intersecting InP nanowires were grown to form a network on ZnO:Al thin films. Both wurtzite (WZ) and zincblende (ZB) structures coexist in the random orientation InP NWs on ZnO:Al thin film had been proved by XRD analysis. XPS result indicates Zn diffusion exists in the InP NWs on ZnO:Al. The photoluminescence spectra of InP nanowires with Zn diffusion present an emission at 915 nm. Zn diffusion also bring effect on Raman spectra of InP NWs, leading to more Raman-shift and larger relative intensity ratio of TO/LO.     

Effect of Ni Doping on Structural,Morphological, Optical and Magnetic Properties of Zn1−x Ni x O Dilute Magnetic Semiconductors

Ni²⁺-doped ZnO diluted magnetic semiconducting materials (Zn_1?x Ni _x O with x=0.01,0.02,0.03,0.04,0.05) were synthesised by the co-precipitation method. All synthesised samples were sintered at 600 °C for 6 hours. The effects of Ni²⁺ ion-doping on the structural, morphological, optical and magnetic properties of ZnO were investigated using powder X-ray diffraction, field emission SEM, UV–DRS spectroscopy, photoluminescence and vibrating sample magnetometry. The XRD patterns of pure and Ni-doped ZnO samples revealed single phase hexagonal wurtzite structure. The SEM analysis revealed the morphology of prepared samples, and the chemical compositions of all samples were analysed using exhibit energy density X-ray analysis (EDAX) characterisation. The absorption and emission properties revealed the effect of Ni²⁺ doping in ZnO samples. All Ni²⁺ ion-doped samples showed ferromagnetism at room temperature. The observed results are here analysed and reported.     

ZnO microstructures and nanostructures prepared by sol-gel hydrothermal technique

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is an emerging material in large area electronic applications such as thin-film solar cells and transistors. We report on the fabrication and characterization of ZnO microstructures and nanostructures. The ZnO microstructures and nanostructures have been synthesized using sol-gel immerse technique on oxidized silicon substrates. Different precursor's concentrations ranging from 0.0001 M to 0.01 M (M=molarity) using zinc nitrate hexahydrate [Zn(NO3)2. 6H2O] and hexamethylenetetramine [C6H12N4] were employed in the synthesis of the ZnO structures. The surface morphologies were examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). In order to investigate the structural properties, the ZnO microstructures and nanostructures were measured using X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The optical properties of the ZnO structures were measured using photoluminescence (PL) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopies.     

Facile synthesis, optical and photoconductive properties of novel ZnO nanocones

Large-scale, uniform ZnO nanocones with tips about 200 nm and length about 50 μm have been synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. The morphology and structures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM). The effects of reaction time and PEG-400 on the morphology of ZnO nanostructures were investigated, also an oriented attachment mechanism has been briefly proposed. The optical properties were investigated by lasing confocal microscope and photoluminescence spectrum, a strong near band edge emission peak centered at 387 nm from the ZnO nanocones was observed in photoluminescence spectrum. Finally, we have fabricated UV photodetector based on single ZnO nanocone, which present good switching properties by turning the UV light on and off.     

Synthesis of ZnO flowers and their photoluminescence properties

Flower-like ZnO nano/microstructures have been synthesized by thermal treatment of Zn(NH₃)₄²⁺ precursor in aqueous solvent, using ammonia as the structure directing agent. A number of techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scan electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermal analysis, and photoluminescence (PL) were used to characterize the obtained ZnO structures. The photoluminescence (PL) measurements indicated that the as-synthesized ZnO structures showed UV (∼375 nm), blue (∼465 nm), and yellow (∼585 nm) emission bands when they were excited by a He-Gd laser using 320 nm as the excitation source. Furthermore, it has been interestingly found that the intensity of light emission at ∼585 nm remarkably decreased when the obtained ZnO nanocrystals were annealed at 600 °C for 3 h in air. The reason might be the possible oxygen vacancies and interstitials in the sample decreased at high temperature.     

热处理温度对溶胶-凝胶法制备ZnO薄膜晶体结构和发光特性的影响

采用溶胶-凝胶(Sol-Gel)旋涂法在Si(100)衬底上制备ZnO薄膜,利用X射线衍射(XRD)、光致发光谱(PL)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)等手段分析制得的ZnO薄膜的晶体结构和发光特性。着重考察了热分解温度对ZnO薄膜晶体结构和发光特性的影响。结果表明,溶胶-凝胶旋涂法制备的ZnO薄膜样品厚度约为220nm,属六方纤锌矿结构,其c轴取向度与热分解温度有很大关系;ZnO薄膜在室温下均有较强的紫外带边发射峰,且紫外带边发射峰与样品c轴取向度没有直接关系,与缺陷有关的可见发射带很弱。     

可见光诱导TiO2光催化及其机理研究进展

简述了二氧化钛的光催化机理。针对其禁带宽度较大,只能被小于387nm的紫外光所激发的缺点,综述了近年来国内外针对纳米TiO2可见光催化的改性方法和改性机理研究进展,包括离子掺杂、半导体复合、表面光敏化等方法。最后展望了提高纳米TiO2可见光光催化活性研究的前景。     

Structural and optoelectronic characterization of prepared and Sb doped ZnO nanoparticles

This paper briefly reports the structural and optoelectronics properties of prepared pure and Sb doped ZnO nanoparticles. Doping with suitable elements offers an efficient method to control and enhance the optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles, which is essential for various optoelectronics applications. Sb doped ZnO nanoparticles have significant concern due to their unique and unusual electrical and optical properties. In the present work, we report the synthesis of Sb doped ZnO successfully with average particle size range from 26 to 29 nm via direct precipitation method. The phase purity and crystallite size of synthesized ZnO and Sb doped nano-sized particles were characterized and examined via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The elemental analyses of undoped and doped ZnO nanoparticles were examined by using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX).We investigated and measured the optoelectronics properties of synthesized ZnO and Sb doped ZnO nanoparticles by employing photoluminescence and UV–Visible spectroscopy. The influence of Sb doping on photoluminescence (PL) spectra of ZnO nanoparticles, which consists of UV emission and broad visible emission band, is found to be strongly dependent upon the Sb concentration for all the Sb doped ZnO nanoparticles samples under investigation. The UV–Visible absorption study shows an increase in band gap energy as Sb is incorporated on the ZnO nanoparticles.     

Solvothermal synthesis and photoluminescence properties of ZnO nanorods and nanorod assemblies from ZnO2 nanoparticles

Without the use of any extra surfactant or template, hexagonal phase ZnO crystallites consisting of individual nanorods or nanorod assemblies were synthesized simply by solvothermal treatment of several nanometer ZnO₂ nanoparticles in three different solvents (including ethanol, 80 wt.% hydrazine hydrate aqueous solution and ethylenediamine) at 150 °C for 24 h. The structures and optical properties of the resultant products were characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and room temperature photoluminescence (RTPL) spectra. The RTPL spectra of the resultant products all showed a much stronger ultraviolet bandgap emission peaking at around 387 nm and a weaker emission associated with the defect level. The as-synthesized ZnO crystallites are promising materials for the optoelectronic devices due to their excellent UV emission properties.     

Structural,photoluminescence and picosecond nonlinear optical effect of In-doped ZnO nanowires

In-doped ZnO (IZO) nanowires were grown using the chemical vapour deposition method. The IZO nanowires have been characterized by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence (PL) and UV–Visible spectroscopy. The PL results demonstrated a larger band-gap for the IZO nanowires in comparison to the undoped ZnO. Two major emission peaks were observed for the IZO nanowires, one originated from the free exciton recombination (ultraviolet emission) and another possibly related to the deep-level emission (visible emission). Furthermore, the nonlinear optical characteristic of the nanowires was studied using picosecond Z-scan technique. The experimental results show that the two and three-photon absorption coefficient of samples were able to be observed. These studies make the promising potential applications of the samples in the development of multifunctional all-optical devices.     

Influence of Co-doping on the structural, optical and magnetic properties of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized using auto-combustion method

In the present work, we have interested to understand the influence of cobalt doping on the various properties of ZnO nanoparticles, a series of samples were successfully synthesized using sol–gel auto-combustion method. The effects of Co doping on the structural and optical properties of ZnO:Co nanoparticles were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). With the sensitivity of the XRD instrument, the structural analyses on the undoped and Co-doped ZnO samples reveal the formation of polycrystalline hexagonal-wurtzite structure without any secondary phase. FTIR spectra confirm the formation of wurtzite structure of ZnO in the samples. The optical absorption spectra showed a red shift in the near band edge which indicates that Co²⁺ successfully incorporated into the Zn²⁺ lattice sites. The room temperature PL measurements show a strong UV emission centered at 392 nm (3.16 eV), ascribed to the near-band-edge emissions of ZnO and defect related emissions at 411 nm (violet luminescence), 449 nm (blue luminescence) and 627 nm (orange-red luminescence), respectively. Magnetic study using VSM reveals that all the samples are found to exhibit room temperature ferromagnetism.     

Effect of the oxygen partial pressure on the microstructure and optical properties of ZnO:Cu films

Cu-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Cu) films were deposited on Si substrates using radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering at different oxygen partial pressures. The effect of oxygen partial pressure on the microstructures and optical properties of ZnO:Cu thin films were systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and fluorescence spectrophotometer. The results indicated that the grain orientation of the films was promoted by appropriate oxygen partial pressures. And with increasing oxygen partial pressure, the compressive stress of the films increased first and then decreased. The photoluminescence (PL) of the samples were measured at room temperature. A violet peak, two blue peaks and a green peak were observed from the PL spectra of the four samples. The origin of these emissions was discussed and the mechanism of violet emission of ZnO:Cu thin films were suggested.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Transition Metals Doped ZnO Nanorods

Different morphologies of undoped and transition metals(Mn,Co and Ni) doped one-dimensional(1D) ZnO nanocrystals were successfully synthesized by chemical method in an air atmosphere using polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP) as a surfactant.The structure and optical properties were studied by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD),thermal gravimetric analysis(TGA),ultraviolet visible(UV-vis) absorption spectra and photoluminescence(PL) spectra.The doped ZnO nanorods exhibited a blue-shifted band gap and enhanced ultraviolet(UV) emission.In addition defect related emission was observed for the doped ZnO.     

Growth of ZnO nanostructures on Si by means of plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition

Crystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures have been grown on Si substrates by means of Plasma Based Ion Implantation and Deposition (PIII&D) at a temperature of about 300 °C and in the presence of an argon glow discharge. In the process a crucible filled with small pieces of metallic zinc plays the role of the anode of the discharge itself, being polarized by positive DC voltage of about 400 V. Electrons produced by thermionic emission by an oxide cathode (Ba, Sr, Ca)O impact this crucible, causing its heating and vaporization of Zn. Partial ionization of Zn atoms takes place due to collisions with plasma particles. High negative voltage pulses (7 kV/40 μs/250 Hz) applied to the sample holder causes the implantation of metallic zinc into Si surface, while Zn deposition happens between pulses. After annealing at 700 °C, strong UV and various visible photoluminescence bands are observed at room temperature, as well as the presence of ZnO nanoparticles. The coated surface was characterized in detail using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. XRD indicated the presence of only ZnO peaks after annealing. The composition analysis by EDS revealed distinct Zn/O stoichiometry relation depending on the conditions of the process. AFM images showed the formation of columns in the nanoscale range. Topography viewed by SEM showed the formation of structures similar to cactus with nanothorns. Depth analysis performed by XPS indicated an increase of concentration of metallic Zn with increasing depth and the exclusive presence of ZnO for outer regions. PIII&D allowed to growing nanostructures of ZnO on Si without the need of a buffer layer.