A brief review on transition metal ion doped ZnO nanoparticles and its optoelectronic applications

Abstract Nanocrystalline materials have been the focus of the material scientists for the last few decades and with time, the interest on this field has been consistently increasing. Zinc oxide (ZnO) is one of the most important II-VI semiconducting material with wide band gap, whose nanostructures and nanoparticles have attracted the attention and research efforts of many material scientists due to its broad range of applications. Special characteristics, viz., chemical stability, anti-corrosion, anti-bacterial, heat-resistance, luminescence efficiency, electrophoretic nature, diversified yet selective sensing capabilities make it an interesting material to thoroughly explore. Efforts have been put to fine tune the structure, crystallinity etc using several synthesis methods for preparing ZnO nanoparticles for different applications. In this systematic review, we weigh in several methods of synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles and compare their usability in specific case scenarios. We also dive into the structural, chemical, optical, magnetic, sensing, and some of the biochemical properties of ZnO nanoparticles. We focus on enhancing the properties by doping the ZnO nanoparticles with transition metal (TM) atoms. Apart from the discussion on the physico-chemical properties, this review gives an in-depth idea on the technical issues such as growth and size modulation of the nano structures, band-gap engineering, and defects etc.