Probing local environment of Mn-doped nanocrystalline-ZnO/PVDF composite thin films by XPS and EXAFS studies

- Free standing and flexible films of Mn:ZnO/PVDF by sol-gel technique.
- XPS and XANES measurements were carried out to investigate the valence states.
- Local environment surrounding them have been studied using EXAFS measurements.
- Information on the local structure surrounding the Zn and Mn sites was obtained.

Mn-doped nanocrystalline ZnO was incorporated in polyvinylidene fluoride thin films for obtaining free-standing flexible films by sol-gel technique. The as-deposited and the poled composite Mn-ZnO/PVDF films contained three different amount of Mn doping in ZnO nanocrystals as Zn1−xMnxO (x = 0.01, 0.03 and 0.05). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray near edge absorption (XANES) measurements have been carried out to investigate the valence states of the host and the dopant ions in the samples while local environments surrounding them have been studied critically using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements. Information on the local structure surrounding the Zn and Mn sites was obtained to throw a clear insight on the bonding environment in the Mn-ZnO/PVDF films.

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