Structural, morphological and Raman scattering studies of pure and Ce-doped ZnO nanostructures elaborated by hydrothermal route using nonorganic precursor

This study concerns the synthesis as well as structural and morphological characterizations of pure and Ce-doped ZnO nanorods synthesized by hydrothermal process. The synthesized nanorods were characterized in terms of their morphological, structural, compositional, and vibrational properties. XRD results indicated the pure wurtzite structure with good crystalline quality of the samples. The use of NaOH as caustic base favors the agglomeration of the rods to form flower-like nanostructures. EDAX measurements show Zn rich materials. FTIR measurements confirm that the synthesized nanorods are high purity. The Raman spectroscopy studies showed that Ce ions shift the vibrational modes toward lower frequencies. The peak related to E2 (high) mode in pure ZnO (NaOH) is relatively intense compared with that of pure ZnO (KOH) and the opposite result is observed in Ce-doped ZnO. After the introduction of Ce atoms, the Raman peaks shifted and asymmetrically broadened due to anharmonic effects originating from quantum-phonon-effect confinement.