Abstract
This study concerns the synthesis as well as structural and morphological characterizations of pure and Ce-doped ZnO nanorods synthesized by hydrothermal process. The synthesized nanorods were characterized in terms of their morphological, structural, compositional, and vibrational properties. XRD results indicated the pure wurtzite structure with good crystalline quality of the samples. The use of NaOH as caustic base favors the agglomeration of the rods to form flower-like nanostructures. EDAX measurements show Zn rich materials. FTIR measurements confirm that the synthesized nanorods are high purity. The Raman spectroscopy studies showed that Ce ions shift the vibrational modes toward lower frequencies. The peak related to E2 (high) mode in pure ZnO (NaOH) is relatively intense compared with that of pure ZnO (KOH) and the opposite result is observed in Ce-doped ZnO. After the introduction of Ce atoms, the Raman peaks shifted and asymmetrically broadened due to anharmonic effects originating from quantum-phonon-effect confinement.
Highlights
-
Pure and Ce-doped ZnO nanorods were synthesized by hydrothermal process using zinc sulfate and, respectively, NaOH and KOH as caustic bases.
-
ZnO nanorods possess pure wurtzite structure with good crystalline quality.
-
NaOH caustic base favors the agglomeration of the rods to form flower-like nanostructures.
-
EDAX measurements show Zn rich materials with high oxygen vacancy concentration.
-
Raman spectroscopy studies showed that Ce ions shift the vibrational modes towards lower frequencies.
-
Ce atoms shift Raman peaks asymmetrically due to anharmonic effects originating from quantum-phonon-effect confinement.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Özgür Ü, Alivov YI, Liu C, Teke A, Reshchikov M, Doğan S, Avrutin V, Cho S-J, Morkoç H (2005) A comprehensive review of ZnO materials and devices. J Appl Phys 98(4):11
Das A, Wang D-Y, Leuteritz A, Subramaniam K, Greenwell HC, Wagenknecht U, Heinrich G (2011) Preparation of zinc oxide free, transparent rubber nanocomposites using a layered double hydroxide filler. J Mater Chem 21(20):7194–7200
Morganti P (2010) Use and potential of nanotechnology in cosmetic dermatology. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol 3:5
Dalrymple OK, Yeh DH, Trotz MA (2007) Removing pharmaceuticals and endocrine‐disrupting compounds from wastewater by photocatalysis. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 82(2):121–134
Jones N, Ray B, Ranjit KT, Manna AC (2008) Antibacterial activity of ZnO nanoparticle suspensions on a broad spectrum of microorganisms. FEMS Microbiol Lett 279(1):71–76
Chatterjee P, Ghangrekar MM, Rao S (2017) Disinfection of secondary treated sewage using chitosan beads coated with ZnO‐Ag nanoparticles to facilitate reuse of treated water. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 92(9):2334–2341
Tankhiwale R, Bajpai S (2012) Preparation, characterization and antibacterial applications of ZnO-nanoparticles coated polyethylene films for food packaging. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 90:16–20
Becheri A, Dürr M, Nostro PL, Baglioni P (2008) Synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles: application to textiles as UV-absorbers. J Nanopart Res 10(4):679–689
Chang P-C, Fan Z, Wang D, Tseng W-Y, Chiou W-A, Hong J, Lu JG (2004) ZnO nanowires synthesized by vapor trapping CVD method. Chem Mater 16(24):5133–5137
Zhang D, Yang T, Ma J, Wang Q, Gao R, Ma H (2000) Preparation of transparent conducting ZnO: Al films on polymer substrates by rf magnetron sputtering. Appl Surf Sci 158(1–2):43–48
He C, Sasaki T, Shimizu Y, Koshizaki N (2008) Synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using nanosecond pulsed laser ablation in aqueous media and their self-assembly towards spindle-like ZnO aggregates. Appl Surf Sci 254(7):2196–2202
Weintraub B, Deng Y, Wang ZL (2007) Position-controlled seedless growth of ZnO nanorod arrays on a polymer substrate via wet chemical synthesis. J Phys Chem C 111(28):10162–10165
Solis-Pomar F, Jaramillo A, Lopez-Villareal J, Medina C, Rojas D, Mera A, Meléndrez M, Pérez-Tijerina E (2016) Rapid synthesis and photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanowires obtained through microwave-assisted thermal decomposition. Ceram Int 42(16):18045–18052
Khataee A, Karimi A, Arefi-Oskoui S, Soltani RDC, Hanifehpour Y, Soltani B, Joo SW (2015) Sonochemical synthesis of Pr-doped ZnO nanoparticles for sonocatalytic degradation of Acid Red 17. Ultrason Sonochem 22:371–381
Djouadi D, Meddouri M, Chelouche A (2014) Structural and optical characterizations of ZnO aerogel nanopowder synthesized from zinc acetate ethanolic solution. Optical Mater 37:567–571
Khan MF, Ansari AH, Hameedullah M, Ahmad E, Husain FM, Zia Q, Baig U, Zaheer MR, Alam MM, Khan AM (2016) Sol-gel synthesis of thorn-like ZnO nanoparticles endorsing mechanical stirring effect and their antimicrobial activities: potential role as nano-antibiotics. Sci Rep. 6:27689
Raj KP, Sadayandi K (2016) Effect of temperature on structural, optical and photoluminescence studies on ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by the standard co-precipitation method. Phys B Condens Matter 487:1–7
Senthilkumar N, Vivek E, Shankar M, Meena M, Vimalan M, Potheher IV (2018) Synthesis of ZnO nanorods by one step microwave-assisted hydrothermal route for electronic device applications. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 29(4):2927–2938
Djouadi D, Aksas A, Chelouche A (2010) Elaboration et Caracterisations structurales et optique de Nanocristallites toriques de ZnO. Ann Chim-Sci Mat 35(5):255–260
Zhu L, Li Y, Zeng W (2018) Hydrothermal synthesis of hierarchical flower-like ZnO nanostructure and its enhanced ethanol gas-sensing properties. Appl Surf Sci 427:281–287
Abdelouhab ZA, Djouadi D, Chelouche A, Hammiche L, Touam T (2019) Effects of precursors and caustic bases on structural and vibrational properties of ZnO nanostructures elaborated by hydrothermal method. Solid State Sci 89:93–99
Shi R, Yang P, Dong X, Ma Q, Zhang A (2013) Growth of flower-like ZnO on ZnO nanorod arrays created on zinc substrate through low-temperature hydrothermal synthesis. Appl Surf Sci 264:162–170
Wahab R, Ansari S, Kim Y-S, Seo H-K, Shin H-S (2007) Room temperature synthesis of needle-shaped ZnO nanorods via sonochemical method. Appl Surf Sci 253(18):7622–7626
Chen H, Wang R, Zhang J, Hua H, Zhu M (2018) Synthesis of core-shell structured ZnO@m-SiO2 with excellent reinforcing effect and antimicrobial activity for dental resin composites. Dent Mater 34(12):1846–1855. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dental.2018.10.002
Alshehri NA, Lewis AR, Pleydell-Pearce C, Maffeis TG (2018) Investigation of the growth parameters of hydrothermal ZnO nanowires for scale up applications. J Saudi Chem Soc 22(5):538–545
Zhang J, Tan T, Zhao Y, Liu N (2018) Preparation of ZnO Nanorods/Graphene Composite Anodes for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries. Nanomaterials 8 (12). https://doi.org/10.3390/nano8120966
Li W, Gao S, Li L, Jiao S, Li H, Wang J, Yu Q, Zhang Y, Wang D, Zhao L (2016) Hydrothermal synthesis of a 3D double-sided comb-like ZnO nanostructure and its growth mechanism analysis. Chem Commun 52(53):8231–8234
Cui Y, Wang F, Iqbal MZ, Wang Z, Li Y, Tu J (2015) Synthesis of novel 3D SnO flower-like hierarchical architectures self-assembled by nano-leaves and its photocatalysis. Mater Res Bull 70:784–788
Sharma S (2016) ZnO nano-flowers from Carica papaya milk: degradation of Alizarin Red-S dye and antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Optik 127(16):6498–6512
Le CH, Nguyen OT, Nguyen HS, Pham LD, Hoang CV (2017) Controllable synthesis and visible-active photocatalytic properties of Au nanoparticles decorated urchin-like ZnO nanostructures. Curr Appl Phys 17(11):1506–1512
Slimi O, Djouadi D, Hammiche L, Chelouche A, Touam T (2018) Structural and optical properties of Cu doped ZnO aerogels synthesized in supercritical ethanol. J Porous Mater 25(2):595–601
Meddouri M, Hammiche L, Slimi O, Djouadi D, Chelouche A (2016) Effect of cerium on structural and optical properties of ZnO aerogel synthesized in supercritical methanol. Mater Sci-Pol 34(3):659–664
John R, Rajakumari R (2012) Synthesis and characterization of rare earth ion doped nano ZnO. Nano-Micro Lett 4(2):65–72
Karunakaran C, Gomathisankar P, Manikandan G (2010) Preparation and characterization of antimicrobial Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles for photocatalytic detoxification of cyanide. Mater Chem Phys 123(2–3):585–594
Xu Z, Hou Q, Guo F, Jia X, Li C, Li W (2018) Effects of strain on the optical and magnetic properties of Ce-doped ZnO. Curr Appl Phys 18(12):1465–1472
Xia C, Hu C, Zhou P (2013) Low-temperature growth and optical properties of Ce-doped ZnO nanorods. J Exp Nanosci 8(1):69–76
Saad LB, Soltane L, Sediri F (2019) Nano-ZnO sand flowers and rods: hydrothermal synthesis and optical properties. Russian J Phys Chem A 93(11):2269–2274
Mohan AC, Renjanadevi B(2016) Preparation of zinc oxide nanoparticles and its characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Procedia Technol 24:761–766
Ikono R, Akwalia PR, Siswanto WBW, Sukarto A, Rochman NT (2012) Effect of PH variation on particle size and purity of nano zinc oxide synthesized by sol-gel method. Int J Engl Technol 12:5–9
Baruah S, Dutta J (2009) pH-dependent growth of zinc oxide nanorods. J Cryst Growth 311(8):2549–2554
Yuan H, Xu M, Huang Q (2014) Effects of pH of the precursor sol on structural and optical properties of Cu-doped ZnO thin films. J Alloy Compd 616:401–407
Daneshvar N, Aber S, Dorraji MS, Khataee A, Rasoulifard M (2007) Photocatalytic degradation of the insecticide diazinon in the presence of prepared nanocrystalline ZnO powders under irradiation of UV-C light. Sep Purif Technol 58(1):91–98
Ashraf R, Riaz S, Hussain SS, Naseem S (2015) Effect of pH on properties of ZnO nanoparticles. Mater Today: Proc 2(10):5754–5759
Wahab R, Ansari S, Kim YS, Song M, Shin H-S (2009) The role of pH variation on the growth of zinc oxide nanostructures. Appl Surf Sci 255(9):4891–4896
Barrett C, Massalski T (1980) Structure of metals: crystallographic methods. Principles and data (Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1980), pp. 654. ISBN:0080261728
George A, Sharma SK, Chawla S, Malik M, Qureshi M (2011) Detailed of X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence studies of Ce doped ZnO nanocrystals. J Alloy Compd 509(20):5942–5946
YANG J-h, Ming G, ZHANG Y-j, YANG L-l, LANG J-h, WANG D-d, WANG Y-x, LIU H-l, FAN H-g, WEI M-b (2008) Synthesis and optical properties of Ce-doped ZnO. Chem Res Chin Universities 24(3):266–269
Zhang J, Sun L, Yin J, Su H, Liao C, Yan C (2002) Control of ZnO morphology via a simple solution route. Chem Mater 14(10):4172–4177
Tang W, Wang J (2015) Mechanism for toluene detection of flower-like ZnO sensors prepared by hydrothermal approach: charge transfer. Sens Actuators B Chem 207:66–73
Do Kim K, Choi DW, Choa Y-H, Kim HT (2007) Optimization of parameters for the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles by Taguchi robust design method. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 311(1–3):170–173
Anžlovar A, Kogej K, Orel ZC, Žigon M (2014) Impact of inorganic hydroxides on ZnO nanoparticle formation and morphology. Cryst Growth Des 14(9):4262–4269
Podlogar M, Rečnik A, Yilmazoglu G, Özer IÖ, Mazaj M, Suvaci E, Bernik S (2016) The role of hydrothermal pathways in the evolution of the morphology of ZnO crystals. Ceram Int 42(14):15358–15366
Wang H, Xie J, Yan K, Duan M (2011) Growth mechanism of different morphologies of ZnO crystals prepared by hydrothermal method. J Mater Sci Technol 27(2):153–158
Yogamalar NR, Bose AC (2011) Tuning the aspect ratio of hydrothermally grown ZnO by choice of precursor. J Solid State Chem 184(1):12–20
Li W-J, Shi E-W, Zhong W-Z, Yin Z-W (1999) Growth mechanism and growth habit of oxide crystals. J Cryst growth 203(1–2):186–196
Liang Y, Guo N, Li L, Li R, Ji G, Gan S (2015) Preparation of porous 3D Ce-doped ZnO microflowers with enhanced photocatalytic performance. RSC Adv 5(74):59887–59894
Rodnyi P, Khodyuk I (2011) Optical and luminescence properties of zinc oxide. Opt Spectrosc 111(5):776–785
Shukla SK, Agorku ES, Mittal H, Mishra AK (2014) Synthesis, characterization and photoluminescence properties of Ce3+-doped ZnO-nanophosphors. Chem Pap 68(2):217–222
Al-Fandi M, Oweis R, Albiss B, AlZoubi T, Al-Akhras M-A, Qutaish H, Khwailah H, Al-Hattami S, Al-Shawwa E A prototype ultraviolet light sensor based on ZnO nanoparticles/graphene oxide nanocomposite using low temperature hydrothermal method. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2015. IOP Publishing, p 012009
Manoharan C, Rajendran V, Sivaraj R (2018) Synthesis, characterization and applications of Zno/Tio2/Sio2 nanocomposite. Orient J Chem 34(3):1333–1340
Vanaja A, Rao KS (2016) Effect of Co doping on structural and optical properties of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel method. Adv Nanopart 5(01):83
Jiang F (2013) Preparation and surface modification ZnO nano-powder with antifriction properties. Asian J Chem 25(13):1062562 (1–18)
Alim KA, Fonoberov VA, Shamsa M, Balandin AA (2005) Micro-Raman investigation of optical phonons in ZnO nanocrystals. J Appl Phys 97(12):124313
Samuel M, Koshy J, Chandran A, George K (2010) Optical phonon confinement in ZnO nanorods and nanotubes. Indian J pure & Appl Phys 48:703–708
Ristić M, Musić S, Ivanda M, Popović S (2005) Sol–gel synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline ZnO powders. J Alloy Compd 397(1–2):L1–L4
Reddy AJ, Kokila M, Nagabhushana H, Rao J, Shivakumara C, Nagabhushana B, Chakradhar R (2011) EPR, thermo and photoluminescence properties of ZnO nanopowders. Spectrochimica Acta Part A Mol Biomol Spectrosc 81(1):59–63
Samanta K, Bhattacharya P, Katiyar R, Iwamoto W, Pagliuso P, Rettori C (2006) Raman scattering studies in dilute magnetic semiconductor Zn1−xCoxO. Phys Rev B 73(24):245213
Sreenivas K, Kumar S, Choudhary J, Gupta V (2005) Growth of zinc oxide nanostructures. Pramana 65(5):809–814
Tabib A, Bouslama W, Sieber B, Addad A, Elhouichet H, Férid M, Boukherroub R (2017) Structural and optical properties of Na doped ZnO nanocrystals: application to solar photocatalysis. Appl Surf Sci 396:1528–1538
Xu Q-H, Xu D-M, Guan M-Y, Guo Y, Qi Q, Li G-D (2013) ZnO/Al2O3/CeO2 composite with enhanced gas sensing performance. Sens Actuators B Chem 177:1134–1141
Chouchene B, Chaabane TB, Balan L, Girot E, Mozet K, Medjahdi G, Schneider R (2016) High performance Ce-doped ZnO nanorods for sunlight-driven photocatalysis. Beilstein J Nanotechnol 7(1):1338–1349
Richter H, Wang Z, Ley L (1981) The one phonon Raman spectrum in microcrystalline silicon. Solid State Commun 39(5):625–629
Faisal M, Ismail AA, Ibrahim AA, Bouzid H, Al-Sayari SA (2013) Highly efficient photocatalyst based on Ce doped ZnO nanorods: controllable synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic activity. Chem Eng J 229:225–233
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Abdelouhab, Z.A., Djouadi, D., Chelouche, A. et al. Structural, morphological and Raman scattering studies of pure and Ce-doped ZnO nanostructures elaborated by hydrothermal route using nonorganic precursor. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 95, 136–145 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-020-05293-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-020-05293-0