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Effect of annealing on photoluminescence of blue-emitting ZnO nanoparticles by sol–gel method

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Abstract

In this work, we investigated the influence of annealing on the crystallinity, microstructures, and photoluminescence (PL) properties of ZnO nanoparticles prepared by sol–gel method. The annealing was carried out both in air and vacuum. X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy were used to characterize the crystal structures, diameter, surface morphology, and PL properties of ZnO nanoparticles. It has been found that both the as-grown and annealed ZnO nanoparticles had a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure, and their average diameter and crystallinity increased with the anneal time and temperature. Pure blue-emitting behavior was observed in all samples. The emission intensity of ZnO nanoparticles was found to be enhanced after annealing, but it was highly dependent on the annealing conditions. Optimal annealing conditions both in air and vacuum were obtained for achieving maximum emission intensity in the ZnO nanoparticles. The dependence of PL properties of the ZnO nanoparticles on the annealing conditions was discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (No. 2010GQS0064), the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (No. IRT0730), and the Program for Innovative Research Team of Nanchang University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, People’s Republic of China

    Z. Chen, N. Chen, H. Wang & G. P. Du

  2. Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Electric Energy Storage and Conversion, Institute of Functional Materials, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, 330013, People’s Republic of China

    X. X. Li

  3. Info Bright Technologies Company Limited, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

    Andy Y. M. Suen

Authors
  1. Z. Chen
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  2. X. X. Li
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  3. N. Chen
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  4. H. Wang
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  6. Andy Y. M. Suen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. P. Du.

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Chen, Z., Li, X.X., Chen, N. et al. Effect of annealing on photoluminescence of blue-emitting ZnO nanoparticles by sol–gel method. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 62, 252–258 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-012-2719-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-012-2719-5

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