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 95oC 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.