Influence of the calcination temperature on the formation of precipitated ZnO:Ce nanocrystal by employing ultrasound irradiation

Cerium doped Zinc Oxide (ZnO:Ce) nanocrystals were synthesized through precipitation of nitrate solution by employing ultrasound irradiation. The precipitate products were calcinated at various temperature. The calcination temperature is an important key on the formation and properties of nanocrystal. This paper studied influence of calcination temperature on the formation and optical properties of ZnO:Ce nanocrystal. ZnO:Ce nanocrystals were characterized by x-ray diffractometer and UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The x-ray diffraction patterns revealed the formation of hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure for ZnO:Ce nanocrystals. The increase in calcination temperature improved crystallinity and reduced the band gap energy of ZnO:Ce. The result showed that the calcination temperature strongly influenced ZnO:Ce nanocrystals formation. The optical properties of ZnO:Ce nanocrystal can be modified by varying calcination temperature. (paper)