XPS studies and photocurrent applications of alkali-metals-doped ZnO nanoparticles under visible illumination conditions

• Photocurrent applications of the alkali-metals-doped ZnO NPs were investigated.
• Ø K-doped ZnO NPs showed the fastest and highest photocurrent response.
• Doped ZnO NPs devices can be used as high-sensitivity and -speed photodetectors.

The present work is a study about a relationship between X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) results and photocurrent intensity of alkali-metals-elements doped ZnO nanoparticles, which is carried out under visible illumination conditions. The nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple sol–gel method. Structure and morphology studies of the NPs were carried out by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effect of doping on the optical band-gap was investigated by using UV–visible spectrometer. The absorption peak of the doped ZnO NPs was red-shifted with respect to that of the undoped ZnO NPs. After that, the photocurrent application of the products was examined under a white light source at 2 V bias. The photocurrent results showed that, the current intensity of the ZnO NPs was increased by doping materials. However, K-doped ZnO NPs showed the highest photocurrent intensity. Finally, a discussion was carried out about the obtained photocurrent results by the O-1s spectra of the XPS of the samples. Our results suggest that the alkali-metals-doped ZnO NPs exhibit considerable promise for highly sensitive visible-light photodetectors.