Defect Induced Ferromagnetism in Undoped ZnO Nanoparticles

Authors

K. Rainey, Boise State University
J. Chess, Boise State UniversityFollow
J. Eixenberger, Boise State UniversityFollow
D. A. Tenne, Boise State UniversityFollow
C. B. Hanna, Boise State UniversityFollow
A. Punnoose, Boise State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-7-2014

Abstract

Undoped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) with size ∼12 nm were produced using forced hydrolysis methods using diethylene glycol (DEG) [called ZnO-I] or denatured ethanol [called ZnO-II] as the reaction solvent; both using Zn acetate dehydrate as precursor. Both samples showed weak ferromagnetic behavior at 300 K with saturation magnetization M_s = 0.077 ± 0.002 memu/g and 0.088 ± 0.013 memu/g for ZnO-I and ZnO-II samples, respectively. Fourier transform infrared(FTIR) spectra showed that ZnO-I nanocrystals had DEG fragments linked to their surface. Photoluminescence (PL) data showed a broad emission near 500 nm for ZnO-II which is absent in the ZnO-I samples, presumably due to the blocking of surface traps by the capping molecules. Intentional oxygen vacancies created in the ZnO-I NPs by annealing at 450 °C in flowing Ar gas gradually increased M_s up to 90 min and x-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) suggested that oxygen vacancies may have a key role in the observed changes in M_s. Finally, PL spectra of ZnO showed the appearance of a blue/violet emission, attributed to Zn interstitials,whose intensity changes with annealing time, similar to the trend seen for M_s. The observed variation in the magnetization of ZnO NP with increasing Ar annealing time seems to depend on the changes in the number of Zn interstitials and oxygen vacancies.

Comments

Josh Eixenberger, ORCID: 0000-0002-9816-7268

Copyright Statement

Copyright 2014 American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics. The following article appeared in Journal of Applied Physics, 115(17), 17D727 and may be found at https://doi.org10.1063/1.4867596

Publication Information

Rainey, K.; Chess, J.; Eixenberger, J.; Tenne, D. A.; Hanna, C. B.; and Punnoose, A.. (2014). "Defect Induced Ferromagnetism in Undoped ZnO Nanoparticles". Journal of Applied Physics, 115(17), 17D727. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4867596