a Department of Physics, Manipur University, Canchipur, Imphal 795003, Manipur, India;
b Department of Physics, Pachhunga University College, College Veng, Aizawl 796001, Mizoram, India
Abstract We present in this paper a study of the structural and photoluminescence (PL) properties of terbium (Tb) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles synthesized by a simple low temperature chemical precipitation method, using zinc acetate and terbium nitrate in an isopropanol medium with diethanolamine (DEA) as the capping agent at 60 ℃. The as-prepared samples were heat treated and the PL of the annealed samples were studied. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD patterns show the pattern of typical ZnO nanoparticles and correspond with the standard XRD pattern given by JCPDS card No. 36-1451, showing the hexagonal phase structure. The PL intensity was enhanced due to Tb3+ doping, and it decreased at higher concentrations of Tb3+ doping after reaching a certain optimum concentration. The PL spectra of Tb3+ doped samples exhibited blue, bluish green, and green emissions at 460 nm (5D3 - 7F3), 484 nm (5D4 - 7F6), and 530 nm (5D4 - 7F5), respectively, which were more intense than the emissions for the undoped ZnO sample. Based on the results, an energy level schematic diagram was proposed to explain the possible electron transition processes.
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