The Effect of Polyvinylpyrrolidone on the Optical Properties of the Ni-Doped ZnS Nanocrystalline Thin Films Synthesized by Chemical Method

We report the optical properties of polyvinyl-pyrrolidone (PVP) and the influence of PVP concentration on the photoluminescence spectra of the PVP (PL) coated ZnS : Ni nanocrystalline thin films synthesized by the wet chemical method and spin-coating. PL spectra of samples were clearly showed that the 520 nm luminescence peak position of samples remains unchanged, but their peak intensity changes with PVP concentration. The PVP polymer is emissive with peak maximum at 394 nm with the exciting wavelength of 325 nm. The photoluminescence exciting (PLE) spectrum of PVP recorded at 394 nm emission shows peak maximum at 332 nm. This excitation band is attributed to the electronic transitions in PVP molecular orbitals. The absorption edges of the PVP-coated ZnS : Ni0.3% samples that were shifted towards shorter wavelength with increasing of PVP concentration can be explained by the absorption of PVP in range of 350 nm to 400 nm. While the PVP coating does not affect the microstructure of ZnS : Ni nanomaterial, the analyzed results of the PL, PLE, and time-resolved PL spectra and luminescence decay curves of the PVP and PVP-coated ZnS : Ni samples allow to explain the energy transition process from surface PVP molecules to the Ni2+ centers that occurs via hot ZnS.