Optimizing ZnSe nanorods with La doping for structural, electrical, and dielectric properties in device applications

Nano-materials, pure Zinc Selenide (ZnSe), and rare earth (Lanthanum) doped ZnSe (Zn_1-xLa_xSe, x = 0.00, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06) were synthesized via a facile and low-cost hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) demonstrated that the nanoparticles grow in cubic crystal phase with high degree crystallinity, and the measured crystallite size of La-doped ZnSe ranges from 31.95 to 31.11 nm. Mitigation in crystallite size was observed with the inclusion of La and enhancement in the lattice constant ‘a’ from 5.6565 Å to 5.6818 Å. Morphological study (FESEM) depicts synthesized materials' morphologies as nanorods. The FESEM images indicate the random distribution of the nanorods across the crystal lattice, regardless of the accumulation of the nanorods, showing lumps in the synthesized material sample. The estimated grain size of pure ZnSe nanorods ranges from 137.6 to 496.9 nm. Electrical features revealed that direct current (DC) electrical conductivity ‘σ_dc’ enhances with temperature, affirming the semiconducting behavior of the materials. Increased lanthanum content enhances the ‘σ_dc’ from 3.08 × 10^–5 (Ω cm)^-1 to 5.94 × 10^–5 (Ω cm)^-1 at 303 K while lessening the activation energy value from 0.134 to 0.104 eV. Dielectric features, including relative permittivity (ε'), loss factor or dielectric loss (ε''), tangent loss (tanδ), as well as AC conductivity (σ_ac), indicate a direct proportionality with temperature, and elevated values of all the dielectric parameters are noted with La-doping. An increase in dielectric constant with doping concentration displayed that the prepared nanocrystals have valuable dielectric and capacitive behavior. The outcomes of electrical and dielectric features display that the prepared nanorods have vital characteristics for developing optoelectronic devices, solar cells, photocatalysts, and light-emitting diode applications.