Homogeneous precipitation synthesis and conductive properties of Ga-doped ZnO nanopowders

In this paper, Ga doped ZnO (GZO) nanopowders which were synthesized via the homogeneous precipitation method were systematically investigated. The X-ray diffraction result showed that the GZO nanopowders have good crystallinity with wurtzite structure. The scanning electron microscopy image indicated that the morphology of Ga doped ZnO displayed ellipsoidal-like shaped and flake-like structure with an average grain size of about 20–30 nm. Besides, the existence of Ga was examined by X-ray photoelectron spectra, which indicated that Ga ions entered into the ZnO lattice. What’s more, the influences of Ga3+ doping content, calcination atmosphere and calcination temperature on the electrical resistivity of the GZO nanopowders were studied and we found that these factors are important in controlling the electrical conductivity. In addition, the electrical resistivity was 3.142 × 105 Ω cm under the optimum experimental conditions.