The Effect of Al-Cu Co-Dopants on Morphology, Structure, and Optical Properties of ZnO Nanostructures

We have synthesized ZnO nanostructure by using two-step methods i.e ultrasonic nebulizer and chemical bath deposition (CBD) at 95^oC for two hours. The morphology, structural, reflectance, and photoluminescence properties have been characterized by the scanning electron microscope (SEM), the X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer, and photoluminescence spectrometer, respectively. Structurally, all samples possess polycrystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure, and the addition of Al-Cu decreases the crystallinity of ZnO nanostructures. Meanwhile, morphologically, the role of Cu dopants in Al-Cu co-doped ZnO nanostructures suppressed the growth of nanostructures in the c-axis. Hence, it can be used to modify the morphology of ZnO nanorods to nanodisks/nanosheets. Optically, the Al-Cu co-dopants can be used to shift the optical band gap energy of ZnO nanostructures to a lower wavelength (blueshift). The photoluminescence (PL) properties confirmed that the Al-Cu co-dopants have two peaks at the photon energy of 3.78 eV and 3.90 eV.

Keywords:
Al-Cu co-doped ZnO nanostructures; structure; morphology; optical band gap energy; photoluminescence