Optical properties and carrier dynamics in Co-doped ZnO nanorods

Sivan, Aswathi K.; Galán-González, Alejandro; Di Mario, Lorenzo; Tappy, Nicolas; Hernández-Ferrer, Javier; Catone, Daniele; Turchini, Stefano; Benito, Ana M.; Maser, Wolfgang K.; Steinvall, Simon Escobar; Fontcuberta i Morral, Anna; Gallant, Andrew; Zeze, Dagou A.; Atkinson, Del; Martelli, Faustino

Abstract

The controlled modification of the electronic properties of ZnO nanorods via transition metal doping is reported. A series of ZnO nanorods were synthesized by chemical bath growth with varying Co content from 0 to 20 atomic% in the growth solution. Optoelectronic behavior was probed using cathodoluminescence, time-resolved luminescence, transient absorbance spectroscopy, and the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE). Analysis indicates the crucial role of surface defects in determining the electronic behavior. Significantly, Co-doping extends the light absorption of the nanorods into the visible region, increases the surface defects, and shortens the non-radiative lifetimes, while leaving the radiative lifetime constant. Furthermore, for 1 atomic% Co-doping the IPCE of the ZnO nanorods is enhanced. These results demonstrate that doping can controllably tune the functional electronic properties of ZnO nanorods for applications.

Citation

Sivan, A. K., Galán-González, A., Di Mario, L., Tappy, N., Hernández-Ferrer, J., Catone, D., Turchini, S., Benito, A. M., Maser, W. K., Steinvall, S. E., Fontcuberta i Morral, A., Gallant, A., Zeze, D. A., Atkinson, D., & Martelli, F. (2021). Optical properties and carrier dynamics in Co-doped ZnO nanorods. Nanoscale Advances, 3(1), 214-222. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0na00693a

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 9, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Nov 10, 2020
• Publication Date: Jan 7, 2021
• Deposit Date: Jun 15, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 15, 2021
• Journal: Nanoscale Advances
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 214-222
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d0na00693a
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1274024