Influence of Lithium doping on the correlated ferromagnetic ordering and red shift of band gap in weakly Mn-doped ZnO nanoparticles

Abstract

Manganese and Lithium co-doped ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple wet chemical method. In this study we report the influence of lithium on room temperature ferromagnetic ordering of Mn-doped ZnO nanoparticles. The influence of defect chemistry on the exchange interaction between localized magnetic moments of Mn2+ ions and free charge carriers responsible for room temperature ferromagnetism has been studied in detail. The study also reveals a strong correlation between enhanced ferromagnetic ordering and red shift of optical band gap in (Li, Mn) co-doped ZnO nanoparticles.