Investigation on simultaneous doping of Sn and F with ZnO nanopowders synthesized using a simple soft chemical route

ZnO nanopowders simultaneously doped with Sn and F are synthesized by employing a simple soft chemical route. The effect of simultaneous doping on the structural, optical and surface morphological properties are investigated in detail and reported. The structural, FTIR and Raman studies revealed the proper Sn and F incorporation into the ZnO matrix. The synthesized nanoparticles exhibit the Raman bands at 335, 386, 423, 440 and 553 cm⁻¹ which were assigned to wurtzite-type ZnO. The blue shift in the absorption spectrum, caused by the doping process suggests an increase in the optical band gap. The PL studies showed the occurrence of energy transition from ZnO to dopant sites. The surface morphological studies confirmed the nanosize of the obtained powder particles. The EDAX profiles confirmed the presence of expected elements in the final product. The characteristics of the synthesized nanopowders showed that they are potentially significant for several technological applications.