Luminescence properties of anodically etched porous Zn

Anodization of Zn in HF/ethanol and NaOH solution yields porous structure, which luminesces in the visible region. It is observed that the luminescence properties of these samples have been found quite different. The p-Zn prepared in NaOH displays two luminescence peaks near 420 and 520 nm. On the contrary, the p-Zn prepared in HF displays luminescence peak centered at 410 nm. These samples are further studied by annealing in O2 and N2 ambience. Further, temperature dependence photoluminescence (PL) spectra, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) have been performed on these samples, and the possible mechanisms causing the observed PL properties from p-Zn are discussed.