Increasing Doping Level Research Articles

Proliferation in the photo-response characteristics of MDC thin films for optoelectronic applications through NSP technique

Nebulizer spray pyrolysis (NSP), a simple thin-film deposition method, was used to fabricate p-Si/n-manganese-doped cerium oxide (MDC)/Al photodiodes. The structure, morphology, optics, composition, electrical and rectifying properties of the prepared materials were analyzed. UV-Vis analysis demonstrates a prominent and acute absorption edge at 425 nm in the visible region. As more Mn impurities are incorporated into CeO2 crystallites, the band gap decreases as the doping level increases, leading to the formation of new recombination sites with low energy emissions. Electrons in outer orbits operate in energy bands, moving to higher energy levels. At higher Mn doping, some NBE emissions and green emission peaks disappear. The emission spectrum confirmed that strong and broad blue emission peak occurred for the diode containing the 15% Manganese Diode Cerium film. XRD peak shows the mono-phase polycrystalline cubic fluorite structure with the main orientation in the 200 directions. The broad lines (CeO) symmetry at 695,659,538 and 517 cm−1 observed in the Fourier Transform -Infrared spectrum are due to the phonons of the cerium oxide (Ce-O) network caused by asymmetric tip stretching and fastening vibration. Satellite peaks arise due to the transition from ligand (O 2p) to metal (Ce 4f) achieved during the primary and main photo-ionization process. This suggests that the valence states of Ce3+ and Ce4+ provide access to the CeO2 lattice sites. The I-V properties of p-Si/n-MDC/Al devices show behavior limited by the properties of the inorganic semiconductor substrate and the size of the hetero-interface energy barrier. The switching voltage of the hetero-junction was found to be approximately 2.4 V.

Effect of coercive aluminium on the structural and magnetic characteristics of calcium and magnesium based hexaferrites

Aluminum substituted Calcium-Magnesium (Ca-Mg) hexaferrites having general formula Ca0.5Mg0.5Fe12-xAlxO19 (where x is increased with increment of 0.5 from 0.0 to 2.0) are prepared by sol–gel auto combustion technique. X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the hexagonal structure with no evidence of secondary phases. The reduction in lattice parameters is observed as the Al+3 doping level increases. This can be attributed to the short ionic radii of Al+3 ions (0.535 Å) compared to Fe+3 ions (0.645 Å). The obtained c/a ratio falls within the acceptable range of 3.98. Consequently, the formation of magnetoplumbite structure is also confirmed. The SEM image reveals the uniform distribution of particles. The exchange of Fe+3 ions with coercive Al+3 ions led to a decline in saturation magnetization Ms and a significant increase in the coercivity Hc. The magnetic moment mB and Mr of hexaferrites exhibit a decline when Al ions are introduced. This reduction can be ascribed to several factors: the substitution of non-magnetic Al3+ ions in place of Fe3+ ions, the spin-canted ordering of Fe3+ ions, and the valency of Fe ions from 3+ to 2+.

Maximizing Photoelectrochemical Performance in Metal-Oxide Hybrid Composites via Amorphous Exsolution-A New Exsolution Mechanism for Heterogeneous Catalysis.

Exsolution generates metal nanoparticles anchored within crystalline oxide supports, ensuring efficient exposure, uniform dispersion, and strong nanoparticle-perovskite interactions. Increased doping level in the perovskite is essential for further enhancing performance in renewable energy applications; however, this is constrained by limited surface exsolution, structural instability, and sluggish charge transfer. Here, hybrid composites are fabricated by vacuum-annealing a solution containing SrTiO3 photoanode and Co cocatalyst precursors for photoelectrochemical water-splitting. In situ transmission electron microscopy identifies uniform, high-density Co particles exsolving from amorphous SrTiO3 films, followed by film-crystallization at elevated temperatures. This unique process extracts entire Co dopants with complete structural stability, even at Co doping levels exceeding 30%, and upon air exposure, the Co particles embedded in the film oxidize to CoO, forming a Schottky junction at the interface. These conditions maximize photoelectrochemical activity and stability, surpassing those achieved by Co post-deposition and Co exsolution from crystalline oxides. Theoretical calculations demonstrate in the amorphous state, dopant─O bonds become weaker while Ti─O bonds remain strong, promoting selective exsolution. As expected from the calculations, nearly all of the 30% Fe dopants exsolve from SrTiO3 in an H2 environment, despite the strong Fe─O bond's low exsolution tendency. These analyses unravel the mechanisms driving the amorphous exsolution.

Structural and optoelectronic properties of nickel doped CdO thin films deposited by spray pyrolytic technique

In this work, Cadmium oxide (CdO) and Nickle (Ni) doped cadmium oxide (CdO: Ni) thin films have been fabricated onto glass substrate by spray pyrolysis technique. The undoped and Ni-doped CdO thin films have been deposited at 400 °C heated glass substrate. The films' structure, morphology and optical properties were investigated & analyzed as a function of Ni doping level. As confirmed by different characterization, the preparade films have polycrystalline with cubic structure. Based on the results, the pure CdO films showed sharper and more intense diffraction patterns than Ni-doping films. Compared to the pure CdO films, the average grain size of the doped films decreases with increasing of doping level. Furthermore, the optical properties of Ni-doped CdO thin films showed lower absorption coefficient than pure films. However, the higher transparency of Ni-doped CdO films in the visible region consider a good window for the most optoelectronic devices applications. The energy band gap was tuned via Ni doping impurities and it increases as doping level increases.

Exchange stiffness proportional to power of magnetization in permalloy co-doped with Mo and Cu

The exchange stiffness of magnetic materials is one of the essential parameters governing magnetic texture and its dynamics in magnetic devices. The effect of single-element doping on exchange stiffness has been investigated for several doping elements for permalloy (NiFe alloy), a soft magnetic material whose soft magnetic properties can be controlled by doping. However, the impact of more practical multi-element doping on the exchange stiffness of permalloy is unknown. This study investigates the typical magnetic properties, including exchange stiffness, of permalloy systematically co-doped with Mo and Cu using broadband ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy. We find that the exchange stiffness, which decreases with increasing doping levels, is proportional to a power of magnetization, which also decreases with increasing doping levels. The magnetization, Ms, dependence of the exchange stiffness constant, A, of all the investigated samples, irrespective of the doping levels of each element, lies on a single curve expressed as A ∝ Msn with exponent n close to 2. This empirical power-law relationship provides a guideline for predicting unknown exchange stiffness in non-magnetic element-doped permalloy systems.

Improving Reliability of Fan -Out Wafer Level Package Through Doping of Lead-Free Solder Balls

Embedded wafer level ball grid array (eWLB) or FO-WLP (Fan-out wafer-level packaging) is investigated as a package for MMICs (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit) for automotive radar applications in the 77GHz range. Doping of Bi and/or Sb was applied to improve the resistance of lead-free SAC balls against thermal cycling stress. We have shown that by increasing the doping level the lifetime can be increased and determined the maximum doping level before extrinsic failure modes dominate. It is well-known from the literature that doping of Bi and/or Sb improves the resistance of lead-free SAC balls against thermal cycling stress. It was shown that lifetime of FC-BGA package can be multiplied using Bi and/or Sb doping. The lifetime gain is achieved by reduced creepage of the hardened balls caused by the doping. This reduced creepage increases the risk of causing other failures than ball cracks in the eWLB package or the PCB during thermal cycling stress. We have tested robustness of 7x8,5 mm^2 eWLB packages against thermal cycling stress T = -40 to 125 °C using SAC-balls with different Bi-doping content from 0% to 2,5% Bi concentration. As could be expected the solder ball fatigue mode is delayed more and more increasing the Bi content. We found other failure modes than solder ball fatigue emerging at doping around 1%. The fatigue modes are shifted towards cupper lines on PCB or into the package. Cu line cracks can be overcome by switching the PCB layout from NSMD (non solder-mask defined) to SMD (solder-mask defined) solder pads. In general there is a lifetime penalty when switching from NSMD to SMD, but by avoiding the Cu line cracks this lifetime loss is overcompensated using SMD pads for optimum performance. As input for simulations we have characterized the doped solder material using specimens produced in glass columns. We have also tested the components on PCBs with different top layer laminate with different CTE and elastic modulus to assess the influence of the PCB properties on the lifetime. It is a trend in automotive radar systems to use stiffer laminates which are cheaper but have negative influence on component lifetime. Solder ball shear tests were also carried out to characterize the influence of ball doping on other board-level reliability beyond thermal cycling performance. As expected ball shear force is increased with increased doping level. At increased shear-force the shearing is still done through the solder ball and does not lead to different shear-mode. Finally drop-tests were done to check influence of doping on board-level reliability performance other than thermal-cycling performance.

Tailoring of physical properties and photo-catalytic activity of nanostructured ZnO thin films: The role of cobalt doping

ZnO nanostructured thin layers doped with cobalt (0 %, 2 %, 4 %, and 6 %) were successfully deposited on glass substrates via nebulized spray pyrolysis. The XRD and FE-SEM analyses indicated that all samples exhibited a hexagonal wurtzite structure and a densely flaked microstructure in petal-like shapes. The EDX investigations confirmed Zn and O elements in all films and Co in doped samples. The Photoluminescence (PL) spectra showed Co-doping's impact on emission. In addition, ZnO thin film transparency decreased by an average of 26 % in the visible range after doping. With increased Co-doping, the band gap (Eg) slightly decreased while ferromagnetic behavior increased. Furthermore, with an increase in the Co doping level, the material's electrical resistivity increased significantly from 2.5 × 10³ to 5.3 × 105 Ω cm. We found that doping with Co enhances the photo-catalytic efficiency of ZnO under sunlight. The sample doped at 2 % Co shows the highest photo-degradation efficiency of methylene blue (MB), about 93 %.

Gd2O3 Doped UO2(s) Corrosion in the Presence of Silicate and Calcium under Alkaline Conditions

The anodic reactivity of UO2 and UO2 doped with Gd2O3 was investigated by electrochemical methods in slightly alkaline conditions in the presence of silicate and calcium. At the end of the experiments, the electrodes were analysed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to determine the oxidation state of the uranium on the surface. The experiments showed that the increase in gadolinia doping level led to a reduction in the reactivity of UO2, this effect being more marked at the highest doping level studied (10 wt.% Gd2O3). This behaviour could be attributed to the formation of dopant-vacancy clusters (GdIII-Ov), which could limit the accommodation of excess O2− into the UO2 lattice. In addition, the presence of Ca2+ and SiO32− decreased the anodic dissolution of UO2. In summary, the Gd2O3 doping in presence of silicate and calcium was found to strongly decrease the oxidative dissolution of UO2, which is a beneficial situation regarding the long-term management of spent nuclear fuel in a repository.

Structural and Physicochemical Properties of Carbon Doped Boron Nitride Fullerenes: Effect of Doping Level and Atomic Arrangement

AbstractThe effect of carbon doping on the structural and physicochemical properties of B12N12‐xCx [4, 6]‐fullerenes (0 ≤ x ≤ 6) (BNFs) is studied in the frame of the density functional theory. All non‐symmetry related isomers are modeled. Although carbon doping reduces the cohesive energy of the BNFs, most of them remain stable. It is found that the location of carbon atoms in the lowest‐energy isomers follows a definite sequence as the doping level increases. The results indicate that substitutional carbon lowers the gap energy and chemical hardness of BNFs, but it increases their electronegativity and electrophilicity index. Particularly, carbon doping makes BNFs more susceptible to nucleophilic attacks. Additionally, the charge redistribution and structural asymmetry generated by carbon doping endows BNFs with polar character. A dipole alignment parameter is introduced to elucidate some correlation between the atomic arrangement and the polarity of the systems. While carbon doping enhances the capability of BNFs to interact with other chemical species, possible toxicity concerns are highlighted. Finally, possible fingerprints to identify successful carbon doping through infrared and UV–vis spectroscopy are proposed.

Physical Origin of Color Changes in Lutetium Hydride under Pressure

Recently, near-ambient superconductivity was claimed in nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride (LuH3–δ N ε ). Unfortunately, all follow-up research still cannot find superconductivity signs in successfully synthesized lutetium dihydride (LuH2) and N-doped LuH2±x N y . However, a similar intriguing observation was the pressure-induced color changes (from blue to pink and subsequent red). The physical understanding of its origin and the correlation between the color, crystal structure, and chemical composition of Lu–H–N is still lacking. In this work, we systematically investigated the optical properties of LuH2 and LuH3, and the effects of hydrogen vacancies and nitrogen doping using the first-principles calculations by considering both interband and intraband contributions. Our results demonstrate that the evolution of reflectivity peaks near blue and red light, which is driven by changes in the band gap and Fermi velocity of free electrons, resulting in the blue-to-red color change under pressure. In contrast, LuH3 exhibits gray and no color change up to 50 GPa. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of hydrogen vacancies and nitrogen doping on its optical properties. Hydrogen vacancies can significantly decrease the pressure of blue-to-red color change in LuH2 but do not have a noticeable effect on the color of LuH3. The N-doped LuH2 with the substitution of a hydrogen atom at the tetrahedral position maintains the color change when the N-doping concentration is low. As the doping level increases, this trend becomes less obvious, while other N-doped structures do not show a blue-to-red color change. Our results can clarify the origin of the experimental observed blue-to-red color change in lutetium hydride and also provide a further understanding of the potential N-doped lutetium dihydride.

Structural evolution, dielectric, electric, and energy storage properties of BaTi1‐xLixO3‐3xF3x oxyfluorides

AbstractSintering behavior, structural evolution, dielectric, electric, and energy storage properties of BaTi1‐xLixO3‐3xF3x (x = 0–0.10) oxy fluorides have been investigated by X‐ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), impedance, and ferroelectric analyzer in this paper. The oxy‐fluoride ceramic (x = .06) could be densified at ∼1000°C/2 h in an N2 atmosphere without reduction of Ti4+. The solid solutions experienced a transformation from a tetragonal phase into a pseudo‐cubic phase at room temperature with increasing doping levels, exhibiting typical relaxor features. Pseudo‐cubic phase with a small amount of residual tetragonal phase could be observed in x = .02, while a trace amount of BaF2 secondary phase appeared, resulting in the formation of oxygen vacancies in the x ≥ 0.08 compositions. Temperature‐dependent Raman analysis of the doped compositions seems to imply the presence of local polar clusters even above the Burns temperature. Insulation of the grain could be improved by appropriate doping of BaLiF3 due to an increase in the band gap, whereas high‐level doping (x > 0.06) leads to a decrease in insulation due to the formation of oxygen vacancies (BaTi0.94‐xLi0.06+xO2.82‐2xF0.18+x). Optimized energy storage properties with recoverable energy density Wrec = 2.92J/cm3, efficiency η = 85%, and breakdown strength (BDS) = 315 kV/cm can be achieved at x = .06 composition. Sintering of BaTi1‐xLixO3‐3xF3x in the ambient atmosphere leads to the deterioration of the dielectric, electric, and energy storage properties compared with the counterpart sintered in N2 due to the formation of F− vacancies (BaTi0.94Li0.06O2.82+xF0.18‐2x).

Effect of boron doping levels on the microstructure and characteristics of high-quality boron-doped diamond electrodes prepared by MPCVD

In order to fully understand the relationship between boron doping level and material characteristics, a series of high-quality boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes with different boron doping levels (B/C ratios = 1000–5000 ppm) were prepared on a silicon substrate using a self-designed microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) reactor in this study. The relationship between surface morphology, structural composition, chemical bonding state, electrical conductivity and electrochemical properties of BDD electrodes was investigated systematically. With the increase of boron doping level, the grain size of the BDD electrode tends to decrease, the crystal orientation tends to be dominated by (111) orientation, the conductivity increases sharply and then gradually stabilizes, while the width of the potential window tends to decrease (4.39 V to 3.95 V from 1000 ppm to 5000 ppm), and the reversibility and stability of the electrode improves significantly. In addition, such high-quality BDD electrodes also exhibit a higher sensitivity (0.1176 μAμM−1 cm−2) and lower limit of detection (0.276 μM) in the detection of dopamine. The boron doping level in BDD electrodes plays a prominent role in material characteristics such as surface morphology, structural composition, chemical bonding state, electrical conductivity and electrochemical properties. Despite the challenging synthesis of pure sp3 carbon materials at high boron doping levels, the BDD electrodes prepared in this study exhibit high quality without sp2 defects even with high boron doping levels, and possess extremely low resistivity (~10−3 Ω·cm) and a wide electrochemical potential window (~4 V), which has not been achieved in other previous research works and offer great potential in the electrochemical applications of BDD electrodes.

Experimental studies on the OH∗ chemiluminescence and structure characteristics in NH3/H2 and NH3/cracked gas swirl flames

Ammonia (NH3) has been gaining popularity as a carbon-free alternative fuel in recent years. OH∗ chemiluminescence is a promising method to study the structure of ammonia flames, but research on this aspect is still lacking. In this study, the OH∗ chemiluminescence distributions and structure characteristics in NH3/H2 and NH3/cracked gas swirl flames are experimentally investigated. The OH∗ distributions of NH3/H2 and NH3/cracked gas under different addition levels and equivalence ratios are compared. The results show that the increase of equivalence ratio and hydrogen doping level significantly increased the OH∗ chemiluminescence peak of NH3/air swirling flame. Especially in fuel-lean flames, the equivalence ratio effect is greater than the NH3 dilution effect, while the two effects are comparable in equivalence and fuel-rich conditions. The stretching effect of NH3/cracked gas is stronger, and the flame width is narrower than that of NH3/H2 flame, but the peak value of OH∗ radiation is higher.

Enhancements of critical current density in Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconductors by additions of SnO2 nanoparticles

The impact of adding SnO2 nanoparticles on the enhancements of critical current density (Jc) of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconductors was studied. Polycrystalline superconductors with stoichiometry of (Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ)1−x(SnO2)x where was x was ranged from 0.000, 0.002, 0.004, 0.006, 0.008 to 0.010 were made through traditional solid state reaction technique. X-ray diffraction data revealed that all fabricated samples consisted of Bi-2223 and Bi-2212 superconducting phases. The volume fraction of the Bi-2223 phase decreased with SnO2 addition. Analyses of textural structure using scanning electron microscopy data evidenced a clear decrease in grain orientation and porosity with increased doping levels. SnO2 presence in connection to Bi-2223 deceleration reduced the critical temperature. Values of Jc deduced from the magnetization hysteresis loops measured at different temperatures of 35 K, 45 K, 55 K, 65 K were found to enhance for the SnO2 added samples. In the x = 0.002 samples, the field dependent Jc achieved its maximum values. In order to have a deeper understanding in the improvements of flux pinning properties, small and large bundle fields were determined by using the collective pinning theory. The obtained values indicate the expansion of the two corresponding regimes with appropriate. By analyzing the dependence of normalized Jc versus normalized critical temperature, the dominant flux pinning mechanisms in all samples were consistent with δl pinning. Besides, the addition of SnO2 nanoparticles was likely to produce pinning centers in form of core point as evidenced by using the Dew–Hughes model.

Low temperature thermoelectric properties of cobalt doped La1.98Sr0.02CuO4

Low temperature Thermoelectric properties of La1.98Sr0.02Cu1-xCoxO4 (LSCCO) prepared by solid state sintering technique has been investigated. The structural and morphological characterization has been done through X-Ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. The electrical resistivity ρ(T) and thermopower S(T) measurement have been carried out using in-house fabricated setup in the temperature range 100 K to 300 K. The temperature dependence of resistivity shift towards semiconducting nature as cobalt doping. The thermopower S(T) measured is found to be positive, which confirms the p-type conduction. Again, a significant increase in thermopower (from 100 μV/K to 950 μV/K) is observed with increase in Co doping level. Our finding confirms that Co doping at Cu sites increases the thermopower and at the same time it also enhances the resistivity significantly (∼100 times). This results a poor power factor (PF) value for Co doped pellets as compared to undoped La1.98Sr0.02CuO4 pellets.

Changes to Material Phase and Morphology Due to High-Level Molybdenum Doping of ZnO Nanorods: Influence on Luminescence and Defects.

The influence of Mo on the electronic states and crystalline structure, as well as morphology, phase composition, luminescence, and defects in ZnO rods grown as free-standing nanoparticles, was studied using a variety of experimental techniques. Mo has almost no influence on the luminescence of the grown ZnO particles, whereas shallow donors are strongly affected in ZnO rods. Annealing in air causes exciton and defect-related bands to drop upon Mo doping level. The increase of the Mo doping level from 20 to 30% leads to the creation of dominating molybdates. This leads to a concomitant drop in the number of formed ZnO nanorods.

Structural-disorder-driven critical quantum fluctuation and localization in two-dimensional semiconductors

Quantum fluctuations of wavefunctions in disorder-driven quantum phase transitions (QPT) exhibit criticality, as evidenced by their multifractality and power law behavior. However, understanding the metal-insulator transition (MIT) as a continuous QPT in a disordered system has been challenging due to fundamental issues such as the lack of an apparent order parameter and its dynamical nature. Here, we elucidate the universal mechanism underlying the structural-disorder-driven MIT in 2D semiconductors through autocorrelation and multifractality of quantum fluctuations. The structural disorder causes curvature-induced band gap fluctuations, leading to charge localization and formation of band tails near band edges. As doping level increases, the localization-delocalization transition occurs when states above a critical energy become uniform due to unusual band bending by localized charge. Furthermore, curvature induces local variations in spin-orbit interactions, resulting in non-uniform ferromagnetic domains. Our findings demonstrate that the structural disorder in 2D materials is essential to understanding the intricate phenomena associated with localization-delocalization transition, charge percolation, and spin glass with both topological and magnetic disorders.

Effect of Er/Y addition on the growth and superconductivity of Bi2212 films.

In order to increase the critical current density of Bi2212 superconducting films to broaden their application areas. A series of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ-xRE2O3 (RE = Er/Y) (x = 0, 0.04, 0.08, 0.12, 0.16, 0.20) thin films were prepared by the sol-gel method. The structure, morphology and superconductivity of the RE2O3 doping films were characterized in detail. The effect of RE2O3 on the superconductivity of Bi2212 superconducting films was investigated. It was shown that the Bi2212 films were (00l) epitaxially grown. The in-plane orientation relationship between the Bi2212-xRE2O3 and the SrTiO3 was Bi2212[100](001)//SrTiO3[011](100). The grain size in the out-of-plane direction of Bi2212 tends to increase with the amount of RE2O3 doping. Doping with RE2O3 had no significant effect on the anisotropy of Bi2212 crystal growth, but inhibited the agglomerative growth of the precipitated phase on the surface to a certain extent. Furthermore, the conclusion was that the superconducting transition temperature (Tc,onset) was almost unaffected, while the zero resistance transition temperature (Tc,zero) continued to decrease with increasing doping level. The thin film samples Er2 (x = 0.04) and Y3 (x = 0.08) exhibited the best current-carrying capacity in magnetic fields.

Giant coercivity enhancement in a room-temperature van der Waals magnet through substitutional metal-doping.

FexGeTe2 (x = 3, 4, and 5) systems, two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnetic (FM) metals with high Curie temperatures (TC), have been intensively studied to realize all-2D spintronic devices. Recently, an intrinsic FM material Fe3GaTe2 with high TC (350-380 K) has been reported. As substitutional doping changes the magnetic properties of vdW magnets, it can be a powerful means for engineering the properties of magnetic materials. Here, the coercive field (Hc) is substantially enhanced by substituting Ni for Fe in (Fe1-xNix)3GaTe2 crystals. The introduction of a Ni dopant with x = 0.03 can enhance the value of Hc up to ∼200% while maintaining the FM state at room temperature. As the doping level increases, TC decreases, whereas Hc increases up to 7 kOe at x = 0.12, which is the highest Hc reported so far. The FM characteristic is almost suppressed at x = 0.68 and a spin glass state appears. The enhancement of Hc resulting from Ni doping can be attributed to domain pinning induced by substitutional Ni atoms, as evidenced by the decrease in magnetic anisotropy energy in the crystals upon Ni doping. Our findings provide a highly effective way to control the Hc of the 2D vdW FM metal Fe3GaTe2 for the realization of Fe3GaTe2 based room-temperature operating spintronic devices.

Intermediate phase induced by dilution in a correlated Dirac Fermi system

Substituting magnetic ions with nonmagnetic ions is a new way to study dilution. Using determinant quantum Monte Carlo calculations, we investigate an interacting Dirac fermion model with the on-site Coulomb repulsion being randomly zero on a fraction $x$ of sites. Based on conductivity, density of states and antiferromagnetic structure factor, our results reveal a novel intermediate insulating phase induced by the competition between dilution and repulsion. With increasing doping level of nonmagnetic ions, this nonmagnetic intermediate phase is found to emerge from the zero-temperature quantum critical point separating a metallic and a Mott insulating phase, whose robustness is proven over a wide range of interactions. Under the premise of strongly correlated materials, we suggest that doping nonmagnetic ions can effectively convert the system back to the paramagnetic metallic phase. This result not only agrees with experiments on the effect of dilution on magnetic order but also provides a possible direction for studies focusing on the metal-insulator transition in honeycomb lattice like materials.