OPTICAL, STRUCTURAL, AND MORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF UNDOPED AND EUROPIUM DOPED ZnO

Undoped and europium doped ZnO films were electrodeposited from precursor solution on indium tin oxide (ITO) surfaces. Undoped ZnO nanorods were successfully obtained and grown under diffusion control perpendicularly (c axis) on the ITO surface. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed a wurtzite structure with sizes of the hexagonal unit cell: a = 3.2045 angstrom = b and c = 5.2033 angstrom. After insertion of Eu3+ into the ZnO matrix, XRD analysis shows a shift of preferential peak to lower angles (2 theta) indicating that a dislocation occurs into the unit cell with modification of its parameters. The grain sizes of doped ZnO decrease with increasing Eu3+ rate. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show a clear change of morphological structure from nanorods to a nanosheet structure. Photoluminescence tests clearly showed an improvement in emission bands and the corresponding intensities are important in Eu (3+) doped ZnO.