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Growth of nanostructured zinc selenide films doped with europium and their possible applications

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Abstract

Electrostatic-spray pyrolysis of ZnSe:Eu films at different volume concentrations of europium is reported for the first time. The films were characterized for their optical, morphological and structural properties. Optical studies reveal low absorption, low reflection and high transmission within the visible region. Bandgap studies indicate a strong blue shift in comparison to bulk ZnSe. Scanning electron microscopy images of the Eu-doped zinc selenide film suggested fibre nature of ZnSe:Eu films at dopant concentration of 10%. XRD analysis shows polycrystalline nature of the ZnSe:Eu films possessing the hexagonal structure. A distortion in crystallinity was observed for high-dopant concentration (20%) for the ZnSe:Eu films. EDX analysis reveals the formation of ZnSe:Eu films. Based on the discovered properties, the ZnSe:Eu films will be appropriate for use in fibre optics communication, as an absorber for solar cell coating and also for coating optical lenses, windows and for optoelectronics applications.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Dr. Uyi Aigbe and Mr. Paul Amami for the assistance rendered in characterizing the samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria

    D. M. Jeroh, A. J. Ekpunobi & D. N. Okoli

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  1. D. M. Jeroh
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  2. A. J. Ekpunobi
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  3. D. N. Okoli
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Contributions

DMJ: writing (original draft), software, conceptualization and gathering of resources. AJE: formal analysis, supervision, writing (review and editing), validation and methodology. DNO: data curation, investigation, project administration, and visualization.

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Correspondence to D. M. Jeroh.

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Jeroh, D.M., Ekpunobi, A.J. & Okoli, D.N. Growth of nanostructured zinc selenide films doped with europium and their possible applications. Appl Nanosci 13, 4605–4611 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-023-02758-w

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