Fabrication and optical properties of Ce-doped ZnO nanorods

Ce-doped ZnO nanorods were prepared under mild hydrothermal condition. The microstructures, morphologies and optical properties of as-synthesized nanorods were investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), and Raman spectroscopy. XRD and XPS results demonstrated that Ce ions were successfully incorporated into the lattice position of Zn ions in ZnO. TEM images illustrated that the average diameter of Ce-doped ZnO nanorods was 8 nm. PL measurements revealed that both the undoped and Ce-doped ZnO nanorods had an UV emission and a defect emission and the Ce ions doping induced a redshift in the UV emission and a small enhancement in the defect emission. The slight shift in A(1L) and E-1L in Raman spectra increased with the Ce ions doping also indicated that the Ce doping changed the free carrier concentration in the ZnO nanorods. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3318613]