The influence of Co content on the luminescence properties of Co-doped ZnO nanoparticles

Abstract

Co-doped ZnO nanoparticles have been synthesized by co-precipitation technique. Photoluminescence spectra change in the range from 350 nm to 600 nm and remain unchanged at about 690 nm with the Co content increase. The UV emission is assigned to exciton emission. The density of band-edge states increases with Co content. The blue emission could be ascribed to the recombination of electrons in Co[Formula: see text] ions and holes in the valence band, whose relative intensity and full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) increase with the increase of cobalt concentration. The red emission results from the intra-d-shell emission at Co, which is independent of Co content. The relative density and energy-level position of green emission centers are also influenced by Co content.