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Structural, optical, and magnetic properties of low temperature hydrothermal synthesized (Gd, Al)-codoped ZnO nanoparticles

  • Original Paper: Nano-structured materials (particles, fibers, colloids, composites, etc.)
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Abstract

Well-dispersed (Gd, Al)-codoped ZnO (Zn0.96–xGdxAl0.04O) nanoparticles (NPs) with different Gd content (x = 0–0.04) were synthesized by low temperature hydrothermal method and their structural, optical, and magnetic properties were investigated. All the as-prepared Zn0.96–xGdxAl0.04O NPs exhibit a hexagonal wurtzite structure with good crystal quality and small particle size (~3 nm). With increasing Gd-doping content from 0 to 0.04, the band gap Eg of Zn0.96–xGdxAl0.04O NPs increases from 3.46 to 3.62 eV owing to the substitution of Gd ions at Zn sites. The presence of additional intrinsic defects Zn-interstitial (Zni) and/or O-vacancy (VO) induced by Gd-doping results in the enhanced PL emission and increased PL lifetime. As compared with Al-doped ZnO, the room temperature ferromagnetic behavior of (Gd, Al)-codoped ZnO system is enhanced remarkably, which is explained based on the O-vacancy mediated exchange interactions between Gd and Al ions.

Highlights

  • Well-dispersed Zn0.96–xGdxAl0.04O (x = 0–0.04) nanoparticles were synthesized by low temperature hydrothermal method.

  • The band gap Eg was found to increase from 3.46 to 3.62 eV as the Gd-doping content increases from 0 to 0.04.

  • Enhanced PL intensity and longer PL lifetime confirmed the formation of more Zn-interstitial and O-vacancy defects generated by Gd doping.

  • O-vacancy mediated exchange interactions between Gd and Al ions improved the ferromagnetic properties of (Gd, Al)-codoped ZnO NPs.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 11704152 and 11774134).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Physics and Chemistry of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Normal University, Siping, 136000, China

    Jundong Wang, Weinan Cui, Longshan Zhu, Jin Wang, Xi Yuan & Jie Hua

  2. College of Information Technology, Jilin Normal University, Siping, 136000, China

    Jundong Wang, Weinan Cui, Longshan Zhu, Jin Wang, Qi Wei, Zihang Chen, Meiling Shan, Xi Yuan & Jie Hua

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  1. Jundong Wang
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Wang, J., Cui, W., Zhu, L. et al. Structural, optical, and magnetic properties of low temperature hydrothermal synthesized (Gd, Al)-codoped ZnO nanoparticles. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 93, 193–201 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-019-05160-7

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