The Origin and Dynamics of Soft X‐Ray‐Excited Optical Luminescence of ZnO |
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Authors: | Dr Lidia Armelao Dr Franziskus Heigl Dr Sophie Brunet Dr Ramaswami Sammynaiken Dr Tom Regier Dr Robert I R Blyth Dr Lucia Zuin Dr Rami Sankari Dr Johannes Vogt Prof Tsun‐Kong Sham |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Chemistry, ISTM‐CNR and INSTM, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova (Italy), Fax: (+39)?049?827?5227;2. Department of Chemistry, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond Street, London N6?A 5B7 (Canada), Fax: (+1)?519?661?3022;3. Saskatchewan Structural Science Center, University of Saskatchewan, 116 Science Place, Saskatoon S7N 5E2 (Canada);4. Canadian Light Source, University of Saskatchewan, 101 Perimeter Road, Saskatoon S7N 0X4 (Canada) |
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Abstract: | The distinct optical emission from ZnO materials, nanoneedles and microcrystallites synthesized with different sizes and morphologies by a flow deposition technique, is investigated with X‐ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL) and time‐resolved X‐ray excited optical luminescence (TR‐XEOL) from a synchrotron light source at the O K and Zn L3,2 edges. The innovative use of XEOL, allowing site‐specific chemical information and luminescence information at the same time, is fundamental to provide direct evidence for the different behaviour and the crucial role of bulk and surface defects in the origin of ZnO optical emission, including dynamics. XEOL from highly crystalline ZnO nanoneedles is characterized by a sharp band‐gap emission (~380 nm) and a broad red luminescence (~680 nm) related to surface defects. Luminescence from ZnO microcrystallites is mostly dominated by green emission (~510 nm) associated with defects in the core. TR‐XEOL experiments show considerably faster decay dynamics in nanoneedles compared to microcrystallites for both band‐gap emission and visible luminescence. Herein we make a fundamental step forward correlating for the first time the interplay of size, crystallinity, morphology and excitation energy with luminescence from ZnO materials. |
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Keywords: | luminescence nanostructures optical emission X‐ray excited optical luminescence zinc oxide |
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