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Functional properties of transparent Al, Mg-doped and Al-Mg co-doped ZnO nanostructures grown by electrochemical and chemical bath deposition: a comparative study

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Abstract

Undoped (ZnO), Al, Mg-doped (AZO, MZO), and Al–Mg co-doped ZnO (AZMO) nanostructures with different concentrations ratios of Al/Mg were deposited on conductive FTO substrate via two methods of deposition in solution: electrodeposition (ED) and chemical bath deposition (CBD). The effect of varied amounts of Al/Mg was characterized via electrochemical, Mott–Schottky (M-S), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and optical transmittance techniques. Experimental results revealed that, M–S plots of conductivity n-type were observed for all samples. An increase in the density of the charge carriers (ND) from 1019 to 1020 cm−3, is clearly observed with the amounts of Al/Mg for both deposition methods. According to the FE-SEM observations, when the amount of Al/Mg is increased in the solution, the grains size decreases. AFM morphological analysis indicated that the surface morphology and the roughness were significantly influenced by the amounts of Al/Mg and the elaboration process. XRD patterns revealed that all nanostructures of deposits have a hexagonal wurtzite structure and polycrystalline nature with a (002) and (100) preferential orientation for ED and CBD, respectively. The values of crystallite size were 29 and 27 nm for the ZnO nanostructures synthesized via electrodeposition and chemical bath deposition, respectively. Interestingly, for both doped and co-doped samples; the values were small indicating poor crystallization. From optical measurements, band gaps obtained for ZnO nanostructures deposited by ED and CBD are 3.28 and 3.20 eV, respectively. In addition, an increase in the visible transmission and optical gap of doped nanostructures was observed for both processes (> 89 %), suggesting larger prospects for its use in optoelectronic devices.

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Data availability statements provide a statement about where data supporting the results reported. In a published article can be found—including, where applicable, hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study.

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Acknowledgements

It is included in the PRFU of Ferhat Abbas-Sétif University No. B00L01UN190120200001. This study was funded by the Algerian General Directorate of Scientific Research and Technological Development (DGRSDT), MESRS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Chemistry, Molecular Engineering and Nanostructures, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Ferhat Abbas University, 19000, Sétif, Algeria

    A. I. Boulahbal, H. Benathmane & A. Azizi

  2. Science Department, Los Acebos Building, INAMAT, Public University of Navarra, Campus of Arrosadía, 31006, Pamplona, Spain

    A. I. Boulahbal & A. Gil

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  1. A. I. Boulahbal
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  2. H. Benathmane
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Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by AIB, HB, AG, AA. The first draft of the manuscript was written by AA and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to A. Azizi.

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Boulahbal, A.I., Benathmane, H., Gil, A. et al. Functional properties of transparent Al, Mg-doped and Al-Mg co-doped ZnO nanostructures grown by electrochemical and chemical bath deposition: a comparative study. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 1283 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-10679-1

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