X-ray peak broadening and strain-driven preferred orientations of pure and Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles prepared by a green gelatin-based sol-gel method

Abstract

Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles (Zn1-xAlxO, x = 0 ∼ ZnO; x = 0.01 ∼ ZA1; x = 0.03 ∼ ZA3; x = 0.05 ∼ ZA5) were prepared by a gelatin-based sol-gel method. The structure of the prepared samples was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission electron microscopy (FESEM). The results showed a hexagonal structure and spherical shape for the samples. The XRD results were analyzed by size strain plot (SSP), and it was obtained that the crystallite size decreases as the Al concentrations increase. In addition, the lattice strains (ε), Young's module (Y), and Poison ratio (ν) were calculated for each crystal lattice direction. The results indicated that the lattice strains show similar behavior for samples with different amounts of Al in each direction. Elemental analysis and combinations of binding energies were carried out by Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results prove the participation of the aluminum atom in the zinc oxide network.