Structural, morphological, and optical properties of praseodymium and aluminium codoped ZnO nanoparticles

Abstract

Using a soft chemical process that involves nitrates and heat annealing, nanoparticles of undoped ZnO and praseodymium, aluminum-codoped ZnO may be produced. XRD, SEM with EDS, and FTIR analysis determine nanocatalyst structures, morphologies, and chemical bonding. PL and UV spectroscopy examines optical characteristics. The peak in the FTIR spectral line at 714 cm-1 in the study indicates M-O stretching in the samples and ZnO's interaction with the Pr and Al matrix. XRD patterns indicated prepared nanoparticles with nanosizes ranging from 40.07 to 38.65 to 36.84 to 38.87 to 39.91 nm. SEM analyzed nanoparticle size, shape, and interaction with the Pr and Al matrix. EDS determined NPs purity. UV-vis spectra of ZnO-Pr/Al nanocomposites showed UV absorption similar to ZnO nanoparticles. Doping ZnO with Pr and Al shrinks the bandgap and slows photogenerated electron-hole pair recombination without changing its crystalline structure.