Zn Doping-Induced Shape Evolution of Microcrystals: The Case of Cuprous Oxide

Zn-doped Cu2O polyhedrons with various crystal morphologies, from 50-facet and 26-facet to 8-facet, were synthesized via a mild, low-temperature process based on the hydrothermal method. Addition of zinc salt to the reaction mixture might allow the introduction of Zn ions into the Cu2O crystal lattice, which is shown by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Doping of Cu2O crystals with Zn affects not only their morphologies but also significantly influences their optoelectronic properties. UV–visible and photoluminescence (PL) tests showed that the Zn-doped Cu2O system displays an increased band gap and enhanced photoluminescence properties. The open circuit potential-time (Ocp-t) method shows that a pure Cu2O crystal is an n-type semiconductor, while the Zn-doped Cu2O crystal shows p-type characteristics.