Growth of Fe-doped ZnO nanorods using aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition via in situ doping

• Published in: Applied physics. A, Materials science & processing Materials science & processing, 2014-09, Vol.116 (4), p.1801-1811
• Main Authors: Abd Aziz, Siti Nor Qurratu Aini, Pung, Swee-Yong, Lockman, Zainovia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Condensed Matter Physics; Machines; Manufacturing; Nanotechnology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Processes; Surfaces and Interfaces; Thin Films
• ISSN: 0947-8396; 1432-0630
• DOI: 10.1007/s00339-014-8333-3

In situ Fe doping of ZnO nanorods (NRs) was performed using aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AA-CVD) technique. As the aerosol generator is located outside the reactor, AA-CVD provides the flexibility to control doping parameters, such as doping timing, doping duration and a wider choice of dopant precursors. The Fe dopant aerosol was flowed into the reactor during the growth of ZnO NRs to achieve in situ doping. The X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the Fe dopants were introduced into the ZnO lattice and present mainly in the form of Fe 2+ . This result is supported by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis as the doublet separation is 13.6 eV, although there is a shift of Fe 1/2 and Fe 3/2 peaks to a lower binding energy levels. A strong green emission of PL of Fe-doped ZnO NRs shows that the NRs have poor crystal quality attributed to the Fe-induced defects (recombination centres). The poor photocatalytic performance in degrading Rhodamine B solution of Fe-doped ZnO NRs further proves that the Fe-induced defects were recombination centres rather than traps. Lastly, the growth mechanism of in situ Fe doping of ZnO NRs was discussed.