FIRST PRINCIPLES STUDY ON ELECTRONIC AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF CoX (X=Cr, Mn, Ti, V) co-DOPED ZnO SEMICONDUCTOR
DOI:
10.29303/ipr.v9i1.530Downloads
Abstract
The development of solar energy materials is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, their performance is often limited by the electronic and optical properties of commonly used semiconductors. Unlike previous DFT studies mostly focused on non–transition metal dopants (e.g., Al, Ga), this work explores pristine ZnO, single cobalt (Co) doping, and CoX (X = chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), titanium (Ti), and vanadium (V)) codoping to reveal how single and dual 3d-orbital interactions modify its electronic and optical behavior. This study investigates the effects of transition metal codoping CoX (X = Cr, Mn, Ti, V) on ZnO using Density Functional Theory (DFT) and DFT with Hubbard U correction (DFT+U) within the Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA) to evaluate opto-electronic properties. The bandgap of pristine ZnO was calculated as ~0.80 eV with standard DFT, while ZnO-Co and ZnO-CoX exhibited zero bandgap with a flatband due to conduction band overlap with the Fermi level, indicating metallic behavior resulting from d-orbital contributions. DFT+U improved the pristine ZnO bandgap to ~1.08 eV, although Co-doped and CoX co-doped remained metallic. Orbital resolved analysis shows that Ti and V introduce states near the valence band, while Cr and Mn shift states deeper below the Fermi level, reflecting distinct d-orbital interactions. The theoretical band gaps underestimated experimental values due to strong electron correlation in ZnO. Optical analysis revealed that Co and CoX codoping shifts the absorption edge into the visible range and enhances the absorption intensity. The presence of dopants alters the electronic band structure and enhances optical absorption in the visible range, underscoring their effectiveness in engineering ZnO-based semiconductors for optimized optoelectronic responses.
Keywords:
absorbance bandgap d-orbital DFT DFT UReferences
[1] Kementerian Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral, “Peraturan Menteri ESDM No. 9 Tahun 2023”. Jakarta, Indonesia: KESDM, 2024.
[2] H. B. Tambunan, “Sistem Pemangkit Listrik Tenaga Surya”. Jakarta, Indonesia: Prenadamedia Group, ISBN 9786230221088, 2020, pp. 5–9.
[3] International Energy Agency, “World Energy Outlook 2010,” Energy Supply and Demand: Trends and Prospects. Paris, France: IEA, 2010, pp. 5–20.
[4] D. Timmons, J. M. Harris, and B. Roach, “The Economics of Renewable Energy”, Renewable Energy Sources, 2014, pp. 6–14.
[5] Kholiq, I. Editorial Board. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, vol.4, no.1, 2012. ISSN 1877-3435.
[6] G. Widayana, "Pemanfaatan Energi Surya," Jurnal Pendidikan Teknologi Dan Kejuruan, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 14–19, 2012.
[7] R. Fakharuddin, T. M. Jose, F. F. Brown, F. Santiago, and J. Bisquert, "A Perspective On the Production of Dye-Sensitized Solar Modules," Energy & Environmental Science, vol. 7, pp. 3952–3981, 2014.
[8] Q. Fu, X. Tang, B. Huang, T. Hu, L. Tan, L. Chen, and Y. Chen, "Recent Progress on the Long-Term Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells," Advanced Science, vol. 5, no. 5, 2018. Art. no. e1700387.
[9] Hardani, “Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell: Teori and Aplikasi”, Pustaka Ilmu, 2019, ISBN 978-623-7066-12-5.
[10] A. M. Ali, A. A. Ismail, R. Najmy, and A. Al-Hajry, "Preparation and characterization of ZnO–SiO2 thin films as highly efficient photocatalysts," Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, vol. 275, pp. 37–46.
[11] S. M. Lam, J. C. Sin, A. Z. Abdullah, and A. R. Mohamed, "Degradation of wastewaters containing organic dyes photocatalysed by zinc oxide: a review," Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 41, no. 1–3, pp. 131–169, 2012.
[12] R. A. Soussi et al., "First Principal Study of Structural, Electronic, Optical Properties of co-doped ZnO," Journal of Composites Science, vol. 7, p. 511, 2023.
[13] Y. Liu, Q. Hou, S. Sha, and Z. Xu, "Electronic structure, optical and ferromagnetic properties of ZnO co-doped with Ag and Co according to first-principles calculations," Vacuum, vol. 173, pp. 145–157, 2020.
[14] Y. Sharma, V. Anand, and P. Heera, "Ab Initio Study of Structural and Magnetic Properties of Cobalt Doped Zinc Oxide," J. Cond. Matt., vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 48–51, 2023.
[15] J. Ma, W. Zhang, J. Lin, et al., "Theoretical study on group III elements and F co-doped ZnO," Journal of Alloys and Compounds, vol. 819, pp. 49–61, 2020.
[16] S. Xue, L. Zhang, G. Liu, Q. Wu, J. Ning, B. Zhang, et al., "Electronic Structures and Magnetic Properties of Co/Mn Co-Doped ZnO Nanowire: First-Principles LDA+U Studies," Coatings, vol. 13, no. 567, pp. 67–74, 2023.
[17] U. Haq, R. Ahmed, S. Goumri-Said, A. Shaari, and A. Afaq, "Electronic structure engineering of ZnO with the modified Becke-Johnson exchange versus the classical correlation potential approaches," Phase Transitions, vol. 86, pp. 1167–1177, 2013.
[18] M. V. Gallegos, C. R. Luna, M. A. Peluso, L. C. Damonte, J. E. Sambeth, and P. V. Jasen, "Effect of Mn in ZnO using DFT calculations: Magnetic and electronic changes," Journal of Alloys and Compounds, vol. 795, pp. 89–101, 2019.
[19] Y. Zhang, Y. Wang, and H. Zhang, "Magnetic properties of two-dimensional materials: A first-principles study," Nature Communications, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 10012, 2015.
[20] M. Khuili, N. Fazouan, H. A. El Makarim, E. H. Atmani, A. Abbassi, and D. P. Rai, "(Li,F) co-doped ZnO: Optoelectronic devices applications," Superlattices and Microstructures, vol. 145, 2020.
[21] V. Christhunathan, P. Farràs, and M. Tong, "First-principles study of electronic properties of Zn and La doped and co-doped anatase TiO2," AIP Advances, vol. 13, no. 125013, 2023.
[22] A. Latif, M. Mohsin, I. A. Bhatti, A. A. Tahir, M. T. Hussain, and J. Iqbal, "Experimental and ab initio studies of Co-doped ZnO nanophotocatalyst thin films for dye mineralization," RSC Advances, vol. 13, 2023.
[23] H. Takayama, K.-P. Bohnen, and F. Fulde, "Magnetic surface anisotropy of transition metals," Physical Review B, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 1446–1449, 1976.
[24] M. Yaakob, N. H. Hussin, T. I. T. Kudin, O. Hassan, A. M. M. Ali, and M. Z. A. Yahya, "First Principles LDA plus U Calculations for ZnO Materials," Integrated Ferroelectrics, vol. 155, 2014.
[25] M. Fox, Optical Properties of Solids, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2001, ch. 1
[26] M. O. Steinhauser and S. Hiermaier, “A review of computational methods in materials science: examples from shock-wave and polymer physics,” International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 10, no. 12, pp. 5135–5216, 2009.
[27] P. L. Mecci, A. Monica, I. R. Sinurat, A. Widiyani, A. Rajak, and I. Pardede, "First-Principles Study of Magnetic Anisotropy Energy In Two-Dimensional Ferromagnetic CrI3," Indonesian Physical Review, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 60–84, 2023.
[28] I. Pardede, D. Yoshikawa, T. Kanagawa, N. Ikhsan, I. Murata, M. Obata, and T. Oda, "Anatomy of large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in free-standing Co/Ni (111) multilayer," Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, vol. 500, p. 166357, 2020.
[29] H. Prayoga, Y. Yulianti, and A. Riyanto, "Analisis Dinamika Molekul Protein Lysozyme Putih Telur Dengan Model Potensial Lennard-Jones Menggunakan Aplikasi Gromacs," Jurnal Teori dan Aplikasi Fisika, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 239–247, 2019.
[30] Ü. Özgür et al., "A comprehensive review of ZnO materials and devices," Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 98, no. 4, Art. no. 041301, 2005.
[31] N. T. Hung, A. R. T. Nugraha, and R. Saito, Quantum ESPRESSO Course for Solid-State Physics. Singapore: Jenny Stanford Publishing, 2023.
[32] Kubler, J. International Series of Monographs on Physics. New York: Oxford University Press; 2000
[33] Materials Project. Material ZnO. https://next-gen.materialsproject.org/materials/mp-2133
[34] K. Harun, N. A. Salleh, B. Deghfel, M. K. Yaakob, and A. A. Mohamad, "DFT + U calculations for electronic, structural, and optical properties of ZnO wurtzite structure: A review," Results in Physics, vol. 16, p. 102829, Mar. 2020
[35] M. Julita, M. Shiddiq, and M. Khair, "Determination of Band Gap Energy of ZnO/Au Nanoparticles Resulting in Laser Ablation in Liquid," Indo. J. Chem. Res., vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 83–87, 2022.
[36] A. Rathor, V. Sharma, E. Chaturvedi, G. Sharma, and O. U. Okeke, "Electronic structure and magnetic properties of cobalt-doped zinc oxide," J. Nano-Electron. Phys., vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 268–273, 2011, [Online]. Available: https://jnep.sumdu.edu.ua/en/full_article/170 (DOI not available).
[37] T. Thangeeswari, A. T. George, and A. A. Kumar, "Optical Properties and FTIR Studies of Cobalt Doped ZnO Nanoparticles by Simple Solution Method," Indian J. Sci. Technol., vol. 9, no. 1, Jan. 2016.
[38] J. Doumont, F. Tran, and P. Blaha, “Limitations of the DFT-1/2 method for covalent semiconductors and transition-metal oxides,” Phys. Rev. B, vol. 99, no. 11, pp. 115101, 2019.
[39] L. Chen, H. Hu, A. Wang, Z. Xiong, and Y. Cui, “Density functional theory study of adsorption of organic molecules on ZnO monolayers: Implications for conduction type and electrical characteristics,” Results Phys., vol. 56, Art. no. 107225, 2024.
[40] Y. Lu, Y. Lin, D. Wang, L. Wang, T. Xie, and T. Jiang, “A high-performance cobalt-doped ZnO visible light photocatalyst and its photogenerated charge transfer properties,” Nano Res., vol. 4, no. 11, pp. 1144–1152, 2011.
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with Indonesian Physical Review Journal, agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence (CC BY SA-4.0). This license allows authors to use all articles, data sets, graphics, and appendices in data mining applications, search engines, web sites, blogs, and other platforms by providing an appropriate reference. The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions and will retain publishing rights without restrictions.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in Indonesian Physical Review Journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

