Structural and photoluminescence properties of Ce, Dy, Er-doped ZnO nanoparticles

Undoped ZnO and rare earth elements (Ce, Dy and Er with 2 at. %) doped nanoparticles were synthesized by wet chemical co-precipitation method at 90°C with Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as capping agent. The structural, morphological, compositional and photoluminescence studies were performed with X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), FTIR spectroscopy and Photoluminescence (PL) respectively. XRD results revealed hexagonal wurtzite structure with average particle size around 18 nm - 14 nm and are compatible with TEM results. EDS confirm the incorporation of Ce, Dy and Er elements into the host ZnO matrix and is validated by FTIR analysis. PL studies showed a broad intensive emission peak at 558 nm in all the samples. The intensity for Er- doped ZnO found maximum with additional Er shoulder peaks at 516nm and 538 nm. No Ce, Dy emission centers were found in spectra.