Microstructure evolution and enhanced green luminescence in P-doped ZnO nanowires

Phosphor (P) doping cannot only modify the electrical properties of ZnO nanowires (NWs), but also lead to changes of microstructures and optical properties. In this work. P-doped ZnO NW arrays were synthesized by traditional chemical vapor transport and condensation (CVTC) method using P2O5 powder as p-type dopant source. Morphology characterization demonstrated that P doping suppressed the axial growth and enhanced the lateral growth of ZnO NWs. The NWs grow thicker and shorter with increasing P2O5 concentrations and form flake-like nanostructures when the weight percent of P2O5 was over 5%. Intense green light emission from P doped ZnO NWs was observed when excited by 325 nm He-Cd laser, which means that these NWs are good candidate for green light emission devices. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.