Synthesis and Characterization of Monodispersed β-Ga₂O₃ Nanospheres via Morphology Controlled Ga₄(OH)₁₀SO₄ Precursors

Abstract

To our best knowledge, monodispersed β-Ga2O3 nanospheres were successfully synthesized for first time via morphology-controlled gallium precursors using the forced hydrolysis method, followed by thermal calcination processes. The morphology and particle sizes of the gallium precursors were strongly dependent on the varying (R = SO4(2-)/NO3(-)) concentration ratios. As R decreased, the size of the prepared gallium precursors decreased and morphology was altered from sphere to rod. The synthesized S2 (R = 0.33) consists of uniform and monodispersed amorphous nanospheres with diameters of about 200 nm. The monodispersed β-Ga2O3 nanospheres were synthesized using thermal calcination processes at various temperatures ranging from 500 to 1000 °C. Monodispersed β-Ga2O3 nanospheres (200 nm) consist of small particles of approximately 10-20 nm with rough surface at 1000 °C for 1 h. The UV (375 nm) and broad blue (400-450 nm) emission indicate recombination via a self-trapped exciton and the defect band emission. Our approach described here is to show the exploration of β-Ga2O3 nanospheres as an automatic dispersion, three-dimensional support for fabrication of hierarchical materials, which is potentially important for a broad range of optoelectronic applications.