Crystal Structure and Photoluminescence Studies of ZnO Nanocrystals Doped with Eu3+ Ions

The ZnO : Eu3+ crystal was prepared via coprecipitation with the starting materials Zn(OOCCH3)(2) center dot 2H(2)O, Eu2O3 and NaOH. The X-ray diffraction patterns show that the samples are hexagonal wurtzite structure, No diffraction peaks from europium oxides are detectable. Comparing the ZnO and ZnO : Eu3+ Raman spectra, the new local vibrational modes were observed in ZnO : Eu3+. These phenomena show that Eu3+ ions have entered the lattice by doping. The SEM analysis exhibits that ZnO nanoparticles prepared by coprecipitation become smaller with Eu3+ doping. The excitation and emission spectra of ZnO : Eu3+ sample present a efficient energy transfer process between ZnO and Eu3+ ions.