Synthesis, characterization, and green luminescence in ZnO nanocages

In this paper, we report the synthesis, characterization and observation of green luminescence in ZnO nanocages. A novel low temperature solution-based technique has been developed for growing highly porous ZnO nano-cages from coarse ZnO precursor powders. Various samples, prepared in this study, were characterized using several different characterization tools such as X-ray diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy, Raman, Photoluminescence and Optical Transmission Spectroscopy. It has been shown that ZnO nanocages exhibit green luminescence, with PL data showing a broad green peak at 510 nm. The shift and broadening in the luminescence peaks are understood to arise because of the onset of deep level defects in the system.