Raman and highly ultraviolet red-shifted near band-edge properties of LaCe-co-doped ZnO nanoparticles

LaCe-co-doped ZnO nanoparticles with an average size of 20 nm were grown using a soft chemistry route. Structural investigations demonstrated that the LaCe-co-doped ZnO nanoparticles have a wurtzite structure. Oxidation and vibration state studies revealed that La and Ce ions are successfully doped into ZnO and provided evidence for the presence of a large number of defects in the crystal structure. photoluminescence properties of these nanoparticles exhibit an interesting prominent large red-shift in the ultraviolet region with the co-doping of two rare-earth metals, which makes them good prospects for use in visible high-efficiency luminescent flat displays and excellent solar light activated photocatalysts.