Synthesis, structural and optical characterization of ZrO2 core–ZnO@SiO2 shell nanoparticles prepared using co-precipitation method for opto-electronic applications

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 25; no. 11; pp. 5078 - 5083
• Main Authors: Selvi, N., Sankar, S., Dinakaran, K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.11.2014; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Materials Science; Optical and Electronic Materials; Zirconia; Shell Nanoparticles; High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy; Shell Material; High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-014-2274-7

Nanocrystalline Zirconia (ZrO 2 ) and Zinc oxide (ZnO) as well as Silica (SiO 2 ) coated ZrO 2 core–shell structures were synthesized by both Co-precipitation and seeded polymerization technique. The phase analysis and the core–shell structure formation were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FESEM and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analysis. The existence of SiO 2 on ZrO 2 @ZnO was characterized by FT-IR measurement. UV–Vis study reveals coating of ZnO over Zirconia shows red shift in the absorption spectra. Photoluminescence studies show the non-monotonous variation in luminescence behavior of these core–shell nanoparticles. This investigation explains that the interfacial effect between the core (ZrO 2 ) and the shell materials (ZnO and SiO 2 ) can be exploited to tune the optical properties of the material. This implies that we can envisage the core–shell materials as potential candidates for optical–electronic devices.