One-step hydrothermal synthesis and optical properties of aluminium doped ZnO hexagonal nanoplates on a zinc substrate

Controlled synthesis of Al³⁺ doped ZnO hexagonal nanoplates was achieved via a facile one-step hydrothermal approach. The thicknesses of nanoplates, ranging from about 60 nm to 200 nm, can be controlled by variation of Al³⁺ concentration. A possible mechanism was proposed for the growth of a ZnO nanoplate and Al³⁺ cations played a crucial role for the shape-controlled synthesis. The photoluminescence spectra clearly showed a blue shift with the increasing Al³⁺ content.