Synthesis and characterization of well-aligned catalyst-free phosphorus-doped ZnO nanowires

► Well aligned phosphorus-doped ZnO nanowires were grown on (100) Si wafer by the conventional (PVD) method. ► No metal catalysts or buffer layer were used in the growth process. ► The lattice fringes were in the ordered atomic arrangement, corresponding to the (002) fringes of the hexagonal ZnO. ► The substitution of P on O sites causes an increment of lattice spacing in doped NWs compared to pure one. Highly crystalline P-doped ZnO nanowires were grown by physical vapour transport technique without presence of any catalysts. Grown nanowires were well aligned and had good crystallinity with evolution of preferred orientation (002). Both EDX and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) results revealed that phosphorus atoms were incorporated in the ZnO nanowires with the content of less than 1%. The XRD results confirmed an increase in lattice spacing which is attributed to substitution of P on oxygen sites. The photoluminescence spectra of grown nanowires showed a strong emission peak at 3.248eV with a shoulder at 3.184eV, corresponding with FA (free electron to acceptor) and DAP (donor–acceptor pair) levels of P-doped ZnO. The lattice spacing from HRTEM agrees with the achieved results from XRD measurement.