Magnetic Properties of the Dilute Magnetic Semiconductor Zn_1-xCo_xO Nanoparticles

The magnetic properties of the dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS) are due the existence of two competing interactions, a direct ferromagnetic interaction and an indirect antiferromagnetic interaction. This is well established in the Zn_1-xMn_xO DMS, but is controversy in the Zn_1-xCo_xO DMS. To gain insights, a series of Co-substituted ZnO NRs (x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, and 0.05) have been fabricated using a low-temperature hydrothermal method. The magnetization of these Co-doped ZnO NPs was measured with a vibrating sample magneto-meter. Expressing the magnetization results in units of Bohr magnetons per Co ions, it is found that the ferromagnetic contributions become more dominant as more magnetic Co ions are doped into the ZnO NPs. X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray, scanning electron microscopy, and photoluminescence measurements were done to characterize the Co:ZnO NPs.