Morphological evolution, structural and optical investigations of ZnO:Mg (MgxZn1−xO (0 ≤ x ≤ 30%)) nanostructures

Abstract

Mastery over the shape of nanostructures empowers mechanism over their possessions and usefulness for a given application. The introduction of unambiguous dopants is a general methodology of altering the properties of such nanostructures in well determined fashion. Here we show that in addition to altering the atomic composition of the nanostructures the introduction of specific dopants can provide a clue to vivid alterations in morphology. By controlling the crystallinity from which nanostructures grow and the rate of atomic addition by means of doping, we selectively produced hexagonal nanoplates to stacked dumbbell of ZnO:Mg (Mg_xZn_1−xO (0 ≤ x ≤ 30%)) by a sequential preparative procedure with a solution-phase synthesis. The controlled production of ZnO:Mg (Mg_xZn_1−xO (0 ≤ x ≤ 30%)) nanostructures provides an excellent example of this procedure; provisional on the molar ratio of dopant precursor in the reagents, doped nanostructures with precise shapes, from hexagonal nanoplates to stacked dumbbell, which exhibit tuneable optical properties, are obtained for the first time. We find that the Mg as dopant play a vital role in the crucial growth stage, which are critical for the generation of doped nanostructures with altered shapes. Continuous contraction in the c-axis lattice parameter is revealed in Rietveld analysis with increased Mg doping.