Microwave-assisted particle size-controlled synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles and its application in fabrication of PLED device

Abstract

ZnO nanoparticles were synthesised in diethylene glycol (DEG) with different ZnO molar precursor concentration (1 mmol, 2 mmol, 4 mmol and 8 mmol) in a microwave reactor for 15 minutes up to 250 °C. Zinc acetate dihydrate was used as the precursor for ZnO nanoparticles and oleic acid as a capping agent. It was found that different mmol precursor concentration yielded in different nanoparticle sizes. The crystallinity and particle size was analysed by XRD and the optical properties of the nanoparticles were studied by UV-Vis and PL. Oleic acid forms a layer around the ZnO nanoparticle surface. This layer helps in preparing nanocomposite solution by dispersing the ZnO nanoparticles in MEH-PPV solution. Further, the nanocomposite solution is deposited as a thin-film by spin-coating and this forms the emissive layer of the fabricated PLED device. The diode characteristics were analysed by studying the I-V and EL graphs. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.