Study on the quantum confinement effect on ultraviolet photoluminescence of crystalline ZnO nanoparticles with nearly uniform size

Abstract

Crystalline ZnO nanoparticles with nearly uniform size were studied using photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy. The main spectral feature of ultraviolet photoluminescence is attributed to the recombination of free exciton (FX) and the first surface phonon replica of FX emission. The energy of FX emission shows a clear blueshift as the size of nanoparticles decreases, indicating that the quantum confinement effect exists in the electronic structure of nano-ZnO, although no confinement effect on the vibrational modes has been found in the same series of samples.