Synthesis by Wet Chemical Method and Characterization of Nanocrystalline ZnO Doped with Fe2O3

Abstract

Nanocrystalline samples of ZnO doped with Fe2O3 were synthetized by wet chemical method. The series of ZnO nanosized samples in the wide range of Fe2O3 concentration (from 5 wt.% to 95 wt.%) was prepared by precipitation from nitrate solutions using ammonia. The phase composition of the samples was determined using X-ray diffraction measurements. The phases of hexagonal ZnO, and/or rhombohedric Fe2O3, and/or ZnFe2O4 were identified. The mean crystalline size of nanocrystals, determined with the use of Scherrer’s formula, varied from 8 to 52 nm. The preliminary micro-Raman spectroscopy measurements were performed. The observed features are typical of Fe doped ZnO nanoparticles. The magnetic measurements revealed the presence of different types of magnetic behavior. For samples with high Fe2O3 contents (above 70 wt.%) the ferromagnetic ordering was observed at room temperature. For samples with lower Fe2O3 contents we observed the phenomenon of superparamagnetism above the blocking temperature.