Absence of room temperature ferromagnetism in transition metal doped ZnO nanocrystalline powders from PAC spectroscopy

Abstract

Local structural and electronic environment around ¹¹¹In probe atoms in transition metal doped Zn_1 − xT_xO (T=Mn, Co, V and Ni; x = 0.01, 0.02, 0.05) and Cu co-doped Zn_1 − xCo_xCu_0.01O (x = 0.01–0.04) have been monitored on an atomic scale by Perturbed Angular Correlation (PAC) spectroscopy. Single phase nanocrystalline powders were synthesized at low annealing temperatures by sol-gel method. PAC measurements exhibited the well known quadrupole interaction frequency, \(\upnu_{\rm Q} =\) 31 MHz, which have been attributed to the substitutional incorporation of ¹¹¹In in ZnO matrix. PAC results did not reveal any evidence of magnetic ordering down to 77 K in pure and doped ZnO, which is consistent with the recent observation of paramagnetic behavior in transition metal doped ZnO with synchrotron based studies.