UV-blue light emission from ZnO nanoparticles

Gas evaporation was employed to prepare nitrogen-doped ZnO nanoparticles, which showed intense UV/blue emission (380 nm) at room temperature. The thin films were deposited by dip coating with nanoparticles dispersed in isopropanol and water. The PL spectrum showed dominant acceptor bound excitons around 371 nm at low temperatures, which was due to the substitution of nitrogen acceptors in oxygen sites. Nitrogen doping was also confirmed from Raman spectroscopy, which showed a nitrogen-related local vibrational mode (LVMN) at 583 cm(-1).