Electrochemically Controllable Growth and Tunable Optical Properties of Zn1-xCdxO Alloy Nanostructures

Here we explore an electrochemical route to prepare ternary Zn1-xCdxO (0 < x < 0.15) rod-like nanoparticle aggregates in a solution of ZnCl2 + CdCl2 + KCI at a temperature of 75 degrees C. The longest rod-like nanoparticle aggregates of 10-15,mu m can be achieved. X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) results demonstrated that Cd, Zn, and 0 elements existed in the deposits, and ternary Zn1-xCdxO compounds were obtained. high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) analyses confirmed that these nanoparticles in Zn1-xCdxO rod-like nanoparticle aggregates were single-crystalline. The Zn1-xCdxO nanoparticle aggregate structures can lead to a blueshift of the UV emission peak compared with out-of-nanoparticles and nanorods. In addition, the luminescent experiment showed obvious a redshift in the ultraviolet emission with Cd substitution increasing in the Zn1-xCdxO rod-like nanoparticle aggregates. The visible emission band was not observed in photoluminescence spectra of Zn1-xCdxO rod-like nanoparticle aggregates, suggesting almost no point defect exists. The ZnxCd1-xO nanowire clusters can be routinely obtained when the electrochemical deposition was carried out in solution of Zn(NO3)(2) + Cd(NO3)(2) + citric acid. In addition, we also can successfully prepare ZnxCd1-xO nanobar and nanoparticle clusters when citric acid was replaced by tartaric acid and NaNO3, respectively.