SYNTHESIS, STRUCTURE, AND LUMINESCENCE PROPERTIES OF ZnSnO3 NANOWIRES

ZnSnO3 nanowires were synthesized on Si substrates by thermal evaporation of a mixture of ZnO, SnO2 and graphite powders. The nanowires were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The ZnSnO3 nanowires varied from 10 to 100 nm in diameter and up to a few hundred of micrometers in length. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction revealed that the nanowires are multiphase nanostructures containing ZnSnO3, Zn2SnO4, ZnO, and SnO2 phases. Photoluminescence measurements showed that ZnSnO3 nanowires had a sharp ultraviolet emission peak at approximately 375 nm as well as a broad green emission band centered at approximately 510 nm. The violet emission of ZnSnO3 nanowires exhibits a blue shift by approximately 5 nm compared to that of ZnO nanowires and the visible emission of ZnO nanowires shifted from the orange region to the green region, which should be attributed to the narrowing of E-g. Thermal annealing enhanced the green emission but degraded the ultraviolet emission of the ZnSnO3 nanowires. In addition, the origin of the enhanced luminescence of ZnSnO3 nanowires compared to ZnO and SnO2 nanowires is discussed.