Photoluminescent properties of SPAN-80 coated intrinsic and extrinsic ZnO nanostructures

•SPAN80 concentration dependent crystallography and morphology of nanostructures was examined.•SPAN80 capping dependent optical behavior of ZnO nanostructures was investigated.•PL intensity diminishes due to passivation of surface states.•Phenomena of energy transfer from shell to core augments luminescence quantum yield.

Semiconductor nanostructures catch the attention due to morphology tunable properties. SPAN-80-Capped intrinsic and extrinsic ZnO nanostructures have been synthesized by the simple wet-chemical synthesis route. Structural behavior (morphology and crystallography) and photoluminescence performance of synthesized nanomaterials have been explored as a function of variable SPAN-80 concentration (0.05–0.125%). Crystallographic studies reveal that the prepared products possess wurtzite structure. Electron microscopy infers that the quantum dots are bunched together to form multifaceted morphology for 0.05% SPAN-80 concentration, whereas rectangular shape has been observed for extreme capping concentration. Photoluminescence properties have affected drastically with the introduction of SPAN-80 during the precipitation reaction. Photoluminescent properties of the synthesized nanostructures are strongly dependent on SPAN-80 concentration. Augmentation of capping concentration from 0.05% to 0.075% diminishes the luminescence quantum yield due to increased surface passivation whereas further addition of capping agent beyond the optimum capping concentration (0.075%) enhances the PL intensity due to increased energy transfer from capping shell to the nanostructure core.