Near infrared emission and enhanced ferromagnetism in Fe doped SrSnO₃ perovskite structured nanorods

SrSn_1−xFe_xO₃ (x = 0, 0.01, 0.03 and 0.05) nanorods prepared by chemical precipitation method was investigated for the effect of Fe doping on structural, optical and magnetic properties. X-ray diffraction pattern of the prepared samples indicated orthorhombic structure with considerable variation in the lattice parameters, confirming the Fe incorporation in Sr–Sn–O lattice. Electron microscopy studies revealed the surface morphology changes from rods with poly-dispersed particles to well-defined rod shapes, upon Fe doping. FTIR, Raman, X-ray photoelectron and UV–Vis spectroscopy results confirmed the presence of metal oxide vibrations, active Raman modes, oxygen vacancy and strong optical absorption, respectively. Photoluminescence studies showed an interesting feature of near-infrared emission for the Fe doped samples. Magnetization measurements at room temperature demonstrated dia- to ferro- magnetic phase transition as a result of increased Fe concentration. Fe 5% doped sample significantly exhibited an increased coercivity with a maximum at 2 K. The induced ferromagnetic behavior and near infrared emission in Fe doped SrSnO₃ suggest the material for magneto-electronic device applications.