Synthesis, characterization and luminescence properties of Y-doped and Tb-doped ZnO nanocrystals

A wet chemical route with calcination procedure was used to synthesize Y-doped and Tb-doped ZnO nanocrystals using Zn(NO3)2·6H2O, Y(NO3)3·6H2O, Tb(NO)3·6H2O and (NH4)2CO3 as starting materials. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), combined X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) indicated that Y and Tb were successfully doped into the crystal lattice of ZnO matrix. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) results showed that pure ZnO had nanorod like morphology, whereas Y-doped and Tb–ZnO sample exhibited nanoflake and cluster like morphology, respectively. The luminescence properties of pure ZnO and doped ZnO samples were also investigated. The results showed that the strong UV emission peak of Y-doped and Tb-doped ZnO photoluminescence spectra exhibited a red shift compared with pure ZnO, which was ascribed to the defects and the formation of shallow energy level caused by the incorporation of Y and Tb dopants.