Optimized doping concentration of manganese in zinc sulfide nanoparticles for yellow-orange light emission

Abstract: Nanocrystalline samples of ZnS and Zn1−x Mn x S were synthesized by the solvothermal method without any surface-active agents and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), near-edge X-ray-absorption fine structure technique (XANES), photoluminescence (PL) and UV–vis. The results showed that the Mn2+ ions were substitutionally incorporated into the ZnS host and the size of the particles was decreased as the Mn doped-ratio increased. The yellow-orange emission from the Mn2+ 4T1–6A1 transition was observed in the PL spectra, the peak intensity ratio of which to that of sulfur vacancies increased with the increase of the Mn2+ concentration, and showed a maximum when the concentration of Mn2+ was kept at 3%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]