Structural, magnetic and photoluminescence behavior of Ni/Fe doped ZnO nanostructures prepared by co-precipitation method

Abstract

Un-doped and Ni/Fe-doped ZnO nanostructures were synthesized by co-precipitation route. The variation in crystallite size and lattice parameters by Ni/Fe doping is discussed by the dissimilarity in their ionic radius and the generation of defect states. The higher energy gap in Fe-doped Zn0.97Ni0.03O is described by the generation of oxygen related defects. The shifting of IR frequency by Ni/Fe-doping confirmed the Ni/Fe ions are replaced at tetrahedral sites instead of octahedral co-ordination. The high intensity green emission at ∼ 524 nm from PL study confirmed the increased oxygen vacancies related defects in Ni, Fe dual doped ZnO. Though the entire samples exhibited room temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM), Ni, Fe dual doped ZnO showed the strong ferromagnetism due to the existence of the oxygen vacancy mediated bound magnetic polarons (BMP).