Structural, Morphological, Optical, Photoluminescence, and Magnetic Properties of Zn1-xNixO Nanoparticles

Zn1-xNixO (x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.04)-diluted magnetic semiconductor nanoparticles were synthesized via a simple combustion method at 500 degrees C. The structural analysis confirmed that the formation of hexagonal wurtzite structure with average particle size around 35 nm. Energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX) spectra confirmed the existence of Zn, Ni, and O in the synthesized samples with near stoichiometric ratio. A spherical morphology was noticed for all the samples; however, the size of the particle decreases with increasing Ni concentration. Diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) show that the band shifts towards higher energies from 3.29 to 3.35 eV with Ni substitution. From the photoluminescence (PL) spectra, three emission peaks were noticed at wavelengths around 520, 580, and 700 nm and are attributed to the different defects. Magnetic studies confirmed the ferromagnetic nature of the samples. Three percent of Ni-doped ZnO has larger saturation magnetization (M-s) and is suitable for magnetic memory devices.