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.