The influence of Mn doping on the structural and optical properties of ZnO nanostructures

We report the hydrothermal synthesis of Zn1-xMnxO (x = 0.00, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06) nanostructures and their structural, morphological and optical properties. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the wurtzite phase and successful incorporation of Mn in ZnO matrix. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images revealed the suppression of growth rate and change in morphology of ZnO from nanoplates to nanorods at higher Mn concentration. Furthermore, a red shift is observed in the Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectra, which is attributed to the variation of bond length and Zn–O–Zn structural perturbation. UV–visible absorption measurements indicated a blue shift in the bandgap from 3.28 eV (pure ZnO) to 3.42 eV (x = 0.06), which is assigned to the Burstein-Moss effect. The photoluminescence spectra exhibited UV excitonic and yellow-green defective emissions. The intensity of broad visible emission peak is decreased which is ascribed to the surface defect quenching due to the presence of Mn as a dopant. •Morphology-controlled synthesis of wurtzite Zn1-xMnxO nanoarchitectures (x = 0.00, 0.02, 0.04, and 0.06) is reported.•The transformation from nanoplates to nanorod-type morphology is observed with the addition of Mn in ZnO lattice.•The enhancement in band gap energies is observed with the increase in Mn concentration ascribed to Burstein–Moss effect.•The increase in Mn concentration results in quenching of the PL intensity due to non-radiative recombination centers.