A novel synthesis of hydrothermally-prepared yttrium selenide and erbium selenide nanomaterials doped with magnesium

This novel work successfully synthesized yttrium selenide (Y2Se3), erbium selenide, (Er2Se3), magnesium-doped yttrium selenide (Mg:Y2Se3), magnesium-doped erbium selenide, (Mg:Er2Se3) nanomaterials by hydrothermal technique. The structural, morphological, elemental, optical, and electrical properties of the prepared nanostructures were investigated. Prominent peaks with hexagonal crystal structures were observed from the structural pattern. Nanopebbles which transformed into nanoflakes upon doping with magnesium were seen from their morphologies. The elemental constituents of the prepared samples were confirmed from the EDX spectra. Good optical features with energy band gap values ranging from 2.9 eV to 2.0 eV were obtained upon the addition of magnesium. Introducing the dopant increased the electrical conductivity of the pristine samples to about 3.0 S/m. The synthesized materials find potential application in optoelectronic devices and solar cells.