Synthesis and optical properties of Mg-doped ZnO nanofibers prepared by electrospinning

Mg-doped ZnO nanofibers with different doping concentrations have been successfully synthesized by electrospinning method. The nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that Mg doping has little influence on the diameter and surface morphology of ZnO nanofibers, and the nanofibers are crystalline and exhibit the hexagonal structure. The photoluminescence spectroscopy studies indicate that the ultraviolet emissions present blue shift with increasing Mg doping concentration.

Research highlights▶ Electrospinning is a simple, versatile and convenient approach for manufacturing one-dimensional nanomaterials, and the nanofibers by electrospinning method can have surface area to volume ratio approximately one to two orders of magnitude more than that of continuous thin films. ▶ In this paper, we report the successful fabrication of Mg-doped ZnO nanofibers with diameters ranging from 50 to 100 nm via electrospinning technique. ▶ The effect of Mg doping on the crystal structure, morphology and optical properties of the nanofibers was investigated.