Issue 52, 2017, Issue in Progress

Structural and magnetic properties and DFT analysis of ZnO:(Al,Er) nanoparticles

Abstract

The structural, optical and electrical properties of un-doped and (Al,Er) co-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) powders synthesized by hydrothermal method were investigated. The obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy and magnetic measurements. XRD results reveal that the incorporation of Al and Er in ZnO matrix leads to the formation of a nanostructured hexagonal (würtzite) ZnO structure and α-Al2O3 secondary phase. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy image also shows the hexagonal shape of the ZnO nanoparticles. The magnetic behavior of the nanoparticles changes with concentration of dopant elements due to the competition between oxygen vacancies, secondary phase effect and exchange interaction between dopant elements.

Graphical abstract: Structural and magnetic properties and DFT analysis of ZnO:(Al,Er) nanoparticles

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 Jan 2017
Accepted
08 Jun 2017
First published
28 Jun 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2017,7, 32931-32941

Structural and magnetic properties and DFT analysis of ZnO:(Al,Er) nanoparticles

M. Bououdina, S. Azzaza, R. Ghomri, M. N. Shaikh, J. H. Dai, Y. Song, W. Song, W. Cai and M. Ghers, RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 32931 DOI: 10.1039/C7RA01015J

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements