Structure and optical properties of Mg‐doped ZnO nanoparticles by polyacrylamide method

Mg‐doped ZnO (Mg_xZn_1‐xO) nanoparticles with precise stoichiometry are synthesized through polyacrylamide polymer method. Calcination of the polymer precursor at 650 °C gives particles of the homogeneous solid solution of the (Mg_xZn_1‐xO) system in the composition range (x < 0.15). ZnO doping with Mg causes shrinkage of lattice parameter c. The synthesized Mg_xZn_1‐xO nanoparticles are typically with the diameter of 70–85 nm. Blue shift of band gap with the Mg‐content is demonstrated, and photoluminescence (PL) from ZnO has been found to be tunable in a wide range from green to blue through Mg doping. The blue‐related PL therefore appeared to be caused by energetic shifts of the valence band and/or the conduction band of ZnO. Mg_xZn_1‐xO nanoparticles synthesized by polyacrylamide‐gel method after modified by polyethylene glycol surfactant have a remarkable improvement of stability in the ethanol solvent, indicating that these MZO nanoparticles could be considered as the candidate for the application of solution–processed technologies for optoelectronics at ambient temperature conditions.