Green ErIII luminescence in fractal ZnO nanolattices

Tetrahedral [Zn4O(OAc)(6)]-clusters grow in alcohol in the presence of Er-III and Si-IV ions to self-similar tetrahedral ZnO nanocrystals (with sizes d=5-6 nm). The nanoparticulate ZnO films prepared from these colloids show green Er-III fluorescence. The Klafter-Blumen theory is used to fit the fluorescence decay data. From this fit, the donor life time tau(D) and the exponent beta were determined to be tau(D)=4.3 mus and beta=0.289, indicating that the interior space of the codoped ZnO nanocrystallites is fractal. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.