Near-infrared emission from modified zinc oxide hybrid nanostructures

Near-infrared emission is receiving of attention due to its wide range of applications in imaging, optoelectronics and telecommunication. Here, we synthesize rare earth based organic complexes and use them to endow near-infrared emission capability into two-dimensional nanostructured transparent conducing oxide, specifically zinc oxide nanowalls. The hybrid ZnO nanowalls with Nd3+ complex are found to successfully generate characteristic near-infrared emissions at 887, 1066 and 1334 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical calculations show that the interfacial interactions between ZnO and the Nd3+ complex are driven by nitrate anions in the complex. Based on these results, we propose an unique cascade energy transfer mechanism from ZnO to Nd3+ via 1,10-phenanthroline, which could be generalized to account for emission of other similar hybrid systems.