Nanostructure and magnetic properties of the MnZnO system, a room temperature magnetic semiconductor?

Ferromagnetic behavior of the Zn-Mn-O system

Polycrystalline Zn-Mn-O samples with nominal manganese concentrations x = 0.01, 0.04 and 0.10 were synthesized by a solid state reaction route using (ZnC2O4?2H2O)1-x and (MnC2O4?2H2O)x. Thermal treatment of the samples was performed in air at temperatures 673, 773, 873, 973 and 1173 K for x = 0.01 and at the temperature 773 K for x = 0.04 and 0.10. The samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, differential thermal analysis, transmission electron microscopy, magnetization measurements and electron paramagnetic resonance. X-Ray diffraction was also performed on MnO2 thermally treated at temperatures 673, 773, 873, 973, 1073 and 1173 K. Room temperature ferromagnetism was observed in the Zn-Mn-O samples with x = 0.01 thermally treated at low temperatures (673 and 773 K) and in the sample with x = 0.04 thermally treated at 773 K. It seems that the ferromagnetic phase could originate from interactions between Mn2+ and acceptor defects incorporated in the ZnO crystal lattice during the thermal treatment of the samples.

Structural, optical and magnetic properties of Co-doped ZnO nanorods with hidden secondary phases

Co-doped ZnO nanorods (composition: Zn(0.955)Co(0.045)O) were grown by a simple surfactant-assisted hydrothermal technique. The morphological, structural, optical and magnetic properties of the as-prepared nanorods were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, micro-cathodoluminescence, and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The results showed that the sample had rod-like morphology and that the preferential growth direction was along the c axis. While Co was successfully doped into the ZnO wurtzite lattice structure as revealed by several characterization techniques, hidden secondary phases of Zn(y)Co(3-y)O(4) (0≤y≤1) were also clearly detected by the micro-Raman spectroscopic technique. We propose that the predominant diffusion-limited Ostwald ripening crystal growth mechanism under the hydrothermal coarsening yielded such phase segregation. VSM results showed that the nanorods displayed relatively weak room-temperature ferromagnetism. We suggest that the origin of the ferromagnetism is probably due to the presence of the mixed cation valence of Co via a d-d double-exchange mechanism rather than the real doping effect. It is essential to control the crystal growth mechanism and defect states associated with the ferromagnetism in order to realize the intrinsic diluted magnetic semiconductors.

Ferromagnetic properties of the Zn-Mn-O system

Polycrystalline Zn-Mn-O samples with nominal manganese concentration x = 0.01 and 0.10 were synthesized by a solid state reaction route using (ZnC(2)O(4)·2H(2)O)(1-x) and (MnC(2)O(4)·2H(2)O)(x). Thermal treatment of the samples was carried out in air at temperatures of 673, 773 and 1173 K. The samples were investigated by x-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, differential thermal analysis, transmission electron microscopy, magnetization measurements and electron paramagnetic resonance. Room temperature ferromagnetism is observed in Zn-Mn-O samples with x = 0.01 thermally treated at low temperatures (673, 773 K). It seems that the ferromagnetic phase could originate from interactions between Mn(2+) ions and acceptor defects incorporated in the ZnO crystal lattice during the thermal treatment of the samples.

Zn-Mn-O: Ferromagnet at room temperature

Semiconductor Zn-Mn-O crystallites were synthesized by a solid state reaction method starting from the thermal decomposition of the appropriate oxalates. Samples were thermally treated in air at temperatures ranging from 400 to 900?C. The nominal concentrations of manganese werex = 0.01, 0.02, 0.04 and 0.10. The samples were investigated by the X-ray powder diffraction method, magnetization measurements and by electron paramagnetic resonance. X-ray diffractgrams show a dominant wurtzite structure of Zn-Mn-O. Room temperature ferromagnetism was observed in Zn-Mn-O samples with manganese concentrations x ? 0.04, thermally treated at low temperature (500?C). The saturation magnetiza?tion for the sample with x = 0.01 was 0.05 ?B/Mn. The room temperature ferromagnetism seems to be due to the diffusion of Zn into the Mn-oxides grains.

Novel dandelion-like beta-manganese dioxide microstructures and their magnetic properties

Single-crystalline dandelion-like β-MnO(2) three-dimensional microstructures have been successfully prepared for the first time via a simple hydrothermal process based on the direct reaction between Mn(NO(3))(2) and H(2)O(2). H(2)O(2) plays an important role in the formation of the dandelion-like morphology. The formation mechanism of the dandelion-like nanostructures was investigated and discussed based on the experimental results. Magnetic measurements show that the Néel temperature of the as-obtained product is 100 K, which is about 6 K higher than that of the corresponding bulk β-MnO(2) crystals.

Interface double-exchange ferromagnetism in the Mn-Zn-O system: new class of biphase magnetism

In this Letter, we experimentally show that the room temperature ferromagnetism in the Mn-Zn-O system recently observed is associated with the coexistence of Mn(3+) and Mn(4+) via a double-exchange mechanism. The presence of the ZnO around MnO(2) modifies the kinetics of MnO(2)-->Mn(2)O(3) reduction and favors the coexistence of both Mn oxidation states. The ferromagnetic phase is associated with the interface formed at the Zn diffusion front into Mn oxide, corroborated by preparing thin film multilayers that exhibit saturation magnetization 2 orders of magnitude higher than bulk samples.