Growth and Properties of ZnO/Zn_1−xMg_xO Core/Shell Nanoparticles

Abstract

ZnO/Zn(0.9)Mg(0.1)O core/shell nanoparticles have been grown by employing metal cupferronate complex as precursors in organic solvents. ZnO cores are grown by quickly injecting their precursor at 250 degrees C while the shells are performed by slowly injecting their precursors at different temperatures. The grown nanoparticles are characterized by X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The effects of the shell growth temperatures and precursor injecting rate are studied. Zn(0.9)Mg(0.1)O shells can epitaxially grow on ZnO cores when the shell growth temperature is lowered to 200 degrees C and the shell precursor is supplied slowly at a rate of 0.1 mmol/h. Increaseing shell supply rate or shell growth temperature results in homogenous growth of Zn(0.9)Mg(0.1)O nanoparticles. The shell growth can dramatically enhance core emission and cause a red shift on the core band edge emission.