Mg-Doped ZnO and Zn-Doped MgO Semiconductor Nanoparticles; Synthesis and Catalytic, Optical and Electro-Optical Characterization

Abstract

A series of Mg_xZn_{1 –x}O and Zn_xMg_{1 –x}O (mol %) were synthesized by the sol–gel method. All the synthesized nanoparticles were investigated as catalyst in the one-pot, three-component Biginelli condensation reaction of benzaldehyde, ethyl acetoacetate and urea under heterogeneous conditions. Findings revealed Mg_0.007Zn_0.093O (Zn7) as the best in the mentioned condensation reaction. Zn7 was characterized by FT-IR, SEM, CHN, and XRD. In addition, linear and nonlinear optical properties of Mg_xZn_{1 –x}O and Zn_xMg_{1 –x}O thin films and their colloidal solutions were studied. Using an exact numerical method, some photo-physical properties of the prepared films such as dispersion curve, absorption spectrum, optical permittivity and optical band gap were attained and compared. Finally, using z-scan method at low laser irradiation, thermo-optical effect has also studied and a nonlinear refractive index due to this effect was attained. Doping effect on the optical properties was also investigated physically. It was found in both the particles groups, increasing the doping percent reduces the band gap and it suggests new optoelectronic materials with a spectrum of optical properties.