ZnO Nanoparticles' Optical Properties And Band Gap Tuning For Sensor Applications

Abstract

This study presents the quantitative analysis of optical properties and band gap manipulation of ZnO nanoparticles that can be applied in sensors. For the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles, the sol-gel method was chosen and then magnesium (Mg) and boron (B) were included at different levels up to 5% each. If doping is not used, the band gap in ZnO is 3.31 eV and when 5% boron is added as a dopant, the band gap drops to 3.15 eV. The absorption edge shifted from 379 nm to 368 nm because the particles had small sizes of 12 nm to 48 nm. It was seen from photoluminescence measurements that doped ZnO emits 48% more light than the undoped variety, showing that doping led to improved excitonic recombination. According to the tests, the B-doped ZnO photocatalyst needs 1 second to start working and 2.4 seconds to recover, which is faster than both undoped and Mg-doped samples. Testing showed that doping did not change the structure of the phases in the piece of silicon. A new research has found that by designing doping and nanoparticles, ZnO sensors can be enhanced for both types of sensor.