Luminescence properties and decay kinetics of nano ZnO powder doped with cerium ions

ZnO nanopowders doped with cerium ions (1.2 and 1.5 at. wt.%) were synthesized through soft solution route using ultrasound. Sonication has been found to be an effective way for doping rare earth ions like cerium into ZnO. This was confirmed from energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX) measurement. Further, optical absorption and photoluminescence (PL) measurements corroborate this finding. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies show the increase of crystallite size and unit cell volume with doping of cerium ions. Formation of fibrous structure of ZnO:Ce was observed from the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements. Although the structural measurements indicate Ce4+ ion occupying substitutional site in ZnO, PL and absorption studies confirmed the presence of Ce3+ ion in the powder. The coexistence of Ce3+ and Ce4+ ions has been explained on the basis of conversion of Ce3+ to Ce4+ in the oxidizing environment. Thermoluminescence (TL) and photo-stimulated decay of luminescence (PSDL) decay studies give an idea of various trapping levels present in the band gap of ZnO. These traps release electrons during optical stimulation to give bimolecular kinetics in nano ZnO:Ce powders.