Structural and optical properties of nanoparticles (V, Al) co-doped ZnO synthesized by sol-gel processes

ZnO, Zn0.9V0.1O and Zn0.89V0.1Al0.01O nanoparticles have been prepared by a sol-gel method and their structural and optical properties have been investigated. The obtained nanopowder was characterised by various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. After thermal treatment at 500 °C in air, the powder of Zn0.89V0.1Al0.01O with an average particle size of 25 nm presents a strong luminescence band in the visible range. The PL band energy position presents a small blue shift with the increase of measurement temperature. Different possible attributions of this emission band will be discussed.