A Cu2+ ion–F Center Complex View on the Photoluminescence Quenching and Correlating Ferrimagnetism in (Cu2+/Cu12+)0.044Zn0.956O Electrospun Nanobelts

Abstract

Unlike to the most previous reports, mixed-cation Cu(+)/Cu(2+) doping-induced novel nanoscale phenomena, including photoluminescence quenching and a correlating ferrimagnetism with Néel temperature ≈ 14 K, were found in the as-calcined (Cu2(+)/Cu1(2+))0.044Zn0.956O electrospun nanobelts (NBs). There is also high strain (up to 1.98%) and shrunk lattice distortion (ΔV/V0 ∼ 0.127%) in the (Cu2(+)/Cu1(2+))0.044Zn0.956O NBs, leading to broken lattice symmetry in conjunction with nonstoichiometry (i.e., oxygen vacancies or accurate F centers), which could be possible origins of ferrimagnetism in the Cu-doped ZnO NBs. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectra reveal that there are giant and anisotropic g factors, suggesting that there is strong anisotropic spin-orbit interaction between the Cu(2+) ion and F center (i.e., forming Cu(2+)-F(+) complexes) in the (Cu2(+)/Cu1(2+))0.044Zn0.956O NBs. The above correlation enables the potential application of tuning of the optical and ferrimagnetic properties through strain and F-center engineering.