Electronic Properties of 3d-Metal-Doped Zirconia Nanotubes

The electronic structure of hexagonal ZrO2 nanotubes doped by 3d-metal atoms was calculated by the linearized augmented cylindrical wave (LACW) method. The calculated densities of electronic states indicate that partial substitutions of zirconium atoms by transition metals (Sc, Ti, Mn, Co, and Zn) decrease the optical gap of (4,4) ZrO2 nanotubes from 3.7 to 2–2.3 eV. Doping of nanotubes shifts optical absorption from the UV to the visible, and the nanotubes themselves become candidate materials for design of electrodes for electrochemical water photolysis.