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<p>The sol–gel process has emerged as a powerful synthetic strategy for tailoring the physicochemical properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterials through controlled metal doping. This review provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of metal-doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized via sol–gel routes, emphasizing the fundamental mechanisms governing dopant incorporation, defect chemistry, and microstructural evolution. Attention is given to transition-metal, noble-metal, and rare-earth dopants and their influence on crystallographic structure, lattice strain, grain growth, oxygen vacancy formation, and band structure modification. Key sol–gel parameters, including precursor chemistry, chelating agents, hydrolysis and condensation kinetics, pH control, aging conditions, dopant concentration, and calcination temperature, are systematically examined to elucidate their role in dopant dispersion, phase purity, and nanoparticle morphology. The interplay between synthesis conditions and functional performance is critically discussed, highlighting band-gap engineering, charge carrier dynamics, magnetic ordering, and surface reactivity. The review further correlates structure–property relationships with multifunctional applications, including photocatalysis, gas sensing, optoelectronic devices, energy conversion systems, antimicrobial coatings, and biomedical technologies. Current limitations such as dopant segregation, secondary phase formation, and reproducibility challenges are identified, and future directions for scalable, defect-controlled sol–gel fabrication are proposed. This work aims to provide a mechanistic framework and practical guidelines for designing high-performance metal-doped ZnO nanomaterials through sol–gel chemistry.</p><p></p>

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Dopant incorporation pathways and defect chemistry in sol–gel derived metal-substituted ZnO nanoparticles: structure–function correlations and mechanistic perspectives

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月30日

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  • Mokhtar Hjiri,
  • Nazir Mustapha,
  • Maher Benamara

摘要

The sol–gel process has emerged as a powerful synthetic strategy for tailoring the physicochemical properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterials through controlled metal doping. This review provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of metal-doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized via sol–gel routes, emphasizing the fundamental mechanisms governing dopant incorporation, defect chemistry, and microstructural evolution. Attention is given to transition-metal, noble-metal, and rare-earth dopants and their influence on crystallographic structure, lattice strain, grain growth, oxygen vacancy formation, and band structure modification. Key sol–gel parameters, including precursor chemistry, chelating agents, hydrolysis and condensation kinetics, pH control, aging conditions, dopant concentration, and calcination temperature, are systematically examined to elucidate their role in dopant dispersion, phase purity, and nanoparticle morphology. The interplay between synthesis conditions and functional performance is critically discussed, highlighting band-gap engineering, charge carrier dynamics, magnetic ordering, and surface reactivity. The review further correlates structure–property relationships with multifunctional applications, including photocatalysis, gas sensing, optoelectronic devices, energy conversion systems, antimicrobial coatings, and biomedical technologies. Current limitations such as dopant segregation, secondary phase formation, and reproducibility challenges are identified, and future directions for scalable, defect-controlled sol–gel fabrication are proposed. This work aims to provide a mechanistic framework and practical guidelines for designing high-performance metal-doped ZnO nanomaterials through sol–gel chemistry.