Synthesis of photoluminescent zinc acetate–polyethylene composite coatings by pulse laser-assisted electron beam dispersion

Zinc acetate–polyethylene (ZnAc₂–PE) composite coatings having controllably optical properties were synthesized in vacuum by electron beam dispersion (EBD) method with pulse laser assistant (PLA), using the mixture of ZnAc₂ and PE as target materials. The composition, structure, morphology, optical and photoluminescence properties of the coatings were examined with respect to the laser assistant and post-annealing temperature (100–200 °C). The annealed coatings at 200 °C possessed a dominant wurtzite structure of ZnO. The ZnAc₂–PE coatings exhibited elongated agglomerates (nanorods-like) of the length ~ 120 nm, which was largely different from the spherical particles in single ZnAc₂ or PE coatings. Studies by infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that PLA and PE influence the molecular structure and bond compositions of ZnAc₂ coatings due to the change of active gas phase from the decomposition of target components during EBD. UV–Vis spectra showed that the annealed ZnAc₂–PE coating with high transparent exhibits a characteristic absorption of ZnO at 361 nm and has a blueshift of the band gap up to 0.23 eV compared to ZnAc₂ coatings. This resulted from the passivation effect of PE on the oxidation and decomposition of coatings during annealing. The annealed ZnAc₂–PE coating with PLA exhibited a strong UV emission and a weak defect-related blue-luminescence emission. The present synthesis method of the inorganic–organic coatings may be envisioned to provide a promising way for fabricating high-performance UV detectors and optoelectronic devices.