Photoluminescence from ZnO Nanoparticles Embedded in an Amorphous Matrix

Abstract

We developed ZnO nanoparticles highly dispersed in an amorphous matrix of Al-rich compound without aggregation. A precursor double salt containing Zn and Al was first precipitated from an aqueous solution followed by calcination at 250 °C. Partial decomposition of the salt gave rise to crystallization of ZnO nanoparticles in the remaining amorphous matrix of Al-rich compound. ZnO nanoparticles highly dispersed in the amorphous matrix showed strong photoluminescence in the visible light region that was drastically enhanced by the control of particle size in nanometer scale due to the combination of quantum size effect, surface effect, and oxygen vacancies. The method of controlled partial decomposition of double salts suggests a new route for preparing nanoparticles highly dispersed in solid matrices to be used in next-generation light-emitting devices, etc.

The effect of complexing agent on the crystallization of ZnO nanoparticles

“…Our results on particle size and band gap energy are compared with the results of other investigators [25][26][27][28][29], in figure 5. Good conformity between our results and theirs is depicted.…”

Highly Monodispersed PbS Quantum Dots for Outstanding Cascaded-Junction Solar Cells

“…ε gap of annealed (bulk) and as-prepared ZnO NPs are employed as 3.37 and 3.45 eV, respectively. 27 The band alignment schematic of annealed (solid line) and unannealed (dotted line) ZnO NP films relative to 1.3 eV PbS@TBAI at open-circuit conditions is also provided to exemplify the band edge shift. (b) Representative J – V curves of QDSC with PbS QDs ε gap of 0.84 eV (red curves), 1.03 eV (green curves), 1.23 eV (blue curves), and 1.37 eV (light blue) under dark conditions (dashed line) and 1.5 AM illumination (continuous line).…”

Microstructural and optical properties of nanocrystalline ZnO deposited onto vertically aligned carbon nanotubes by physical vapor deposition

“…We assign the 385 nm (3.22 eV) and 425 nm (2.92 eV) emissions to radiative relaxation from a shallow donor band associated with zinc interstitials to the valence band [3,13]. A band of defects (E1-E4) with activation energies ranging 0.12-0.57 eV below the conduction band edge has been measured in n-type ZnO by deep level transient spectroscopy [13][14][15]. The peak at 465 nm is commonly observed in nanocrystalline ZnO and it has been proposed that it is due to surface states associated the ZnO nanoparticles [15].…”

“…A band of defects (E1-E4) with activation energies ranging 0.12-0.57 eV below the conduction band edge has been measured in n-type ZnO by deep level transient spectroscopy [13][14][15]. The peak at 465 nm is commonly observed in nanocrystalline ZnO and it has been proposed that it is due to surface states associated the ZnO nanoparticles [15]. However, its origin is still being debated.…”