Effect of Pd2+ co-doping on the structural and optical properties of Mn2+:ZnS nanoparticles

Pd2+ (x = 0, 0.02 and 0.04) co-doped with Zn0.98-xMn0.02S (Mn2+:ZnS) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by a simple co-precipitation method. The influence of the Pd2+ on the structural and morphological was investigated using the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopes (TEM) images. XRD pattern proved the formation of the single-phase cubic structure for the Pd2+ (x = 0, 0.02 and 0.04) co-doped Mn2+:ZnS samples. The average particle size of the Mn2+:ZnS samples were identified to be similar to 1.75 nm from the XRD results. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra confirm the presence of vibrational modes of the ZnS with Mn2+ and Pd2+ ions in the samples. Red shift of the absorption band was observed and the 40% enhancement in the optical transmittance behavior was estimated for the Pd2+ co-doped Mn2+:ZnS samples in the UV-Visible analysis. Photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra exhibit increased intensity in the visible region and decrease in the UV region for the Pd2+ co-doped Mn2+:ZnS samples and these improved behavior of the samples were highly preferable for the optical device applications.