Abstract Pristine ZnO and Gd-doped ZnO nanostructures were synthesized via the hydrothermal route to study the influence of Gd doping on the growth and properties of the nanostructures. Synthesized nanostructures were characterized by powder x-ray diffraction technique (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and UV–visible spectroscopy. Optical study demonstrated that the nanostructures exhibit good visible light transmittance and absorbs ultraviolet light energy. Photoluminescence (PL) study of the nanostructures showed that Gd-doping enhanced the PL activity of the nanostructures by possible introduction of the defect levels. The corresponding augmentation in PL intensity (visible light luminescent intensity) is attributed to comparative increase in crystallinity, complex defects (traps) and electron hole pair recombination rate. This enhanced luminescent property of Gd-doped ZnO nanostructures can be exploited for the luminescence based applications like sensors, UV-Lasers, phosphors, LEDs, luminescent biolabels, etc.

中文翻译：

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水热生长的 Gd 掺杂 ZnO 纳米结构的陷阱辅助可见光发光特性

摘要 通过水热法合成了原始的ZnO和掺杂Gd的ZnO纳米结构，研究了Gd掺杂对纳米结构生长和性能的影响。通过粉末 X 射线衍射技术 (XRD)、扫描电子显微镜 (SEM)、透射电子显微镜 (TEM)、能量色散 X 射线光谱 (EDS) 和紫外-可见光谱对合成的纳米结构进行表征。光学研究表明，纳米结构表现出良好的可见光透射率并吸收紫外光能量。纳米结构的光致发光 (PL) 研究表明，Gd 掺杂通过可能引入缺陷水平来增强纳米结构的 PL 活性。PL 强度（可见光发光强度）的相应增加归因于结晶度、复杂缺陷（陷阱）和电子空穴对复合率的相对增加。Gd 掺杂的 ZnO 纳米结构的这种增强的发光特性可用于基于发光的应用，如传感器、紫外线激光器、磷光体、LED、发光生物标签等。