Complete UV emission of ZnO nanoparticles in a PMMA matrix

Abstract

Preparation and photoluminescence (PL) properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles embedded in a lipophilic polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) matrix are reported in detail with an unbalanced sol–gel route. A high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) indicates that ZnO particles are highly crystallized, with a size of 5–6 nm and hexagonal wurtzite structure. During the sol–gel reaction, partial ester groups of R-COOCH3 in PMMA are hydrolyzed to form carboxylic ion groups, which chemisorb on the surface of ZnO nanoparticles to eliminate the defects; thus ZnO nanoparticles in the PMMA matrix exhibit complete ultraviolet (UV) emissions, while emissions in the visible region are fully quenched.