Effects of seeding layer thickness on physical and morphological structure of Ga/F co-doped ZnO nanostructures

Abstract

The effects of seed layer thickness on structural properties and morphology of Ga/F co-doped ZnO nanostructures were investigated in this work. The seed layers with various thicknesses were deposited on glass substrates by dip-coating. It is hypothesized that a certain range of seed layer thickness can significantly alter the outcomes of the morphological structure, density, and shape of the as-synthesized nanostructure products. The Ga/F co-doped ZnO nanostructures were grown on these seed layers by a hydrothermal process using Zn(NO3)2, NH4F, GaN3O9 and hexamethyltetramine. The effects of seeding layer thickness on morphologies and structural properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. More detailed studies to clarify the seed layer effect on the growth of Ga/F co-doped ZnO nanostructures are further discussed.