Effects of rare-earth (Er, La and Yb) doping on morphology and structure properties of ZnO nanostructures prepared by wet chemical method

Rare-earth (Er, La and Yb) doped ZnO nanostructures have been synthesized by precipitation. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Their optical properties were studied by Raman spectroscopy at room temperature and UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy techniques. The effects of rare-earth dopant on morphology and optical properties of the prepared materials were studied and discussed. It was found that the presence of rare-earth ion in crystal structure of ZnO can change the morphology and band gap of ZnO nanostructures. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.