Structural, Optical, and Magnetic Properties of Gd-Doped TiO2 Nanoparticles

Polycrystalline pure and (1, 3 and 5%) Gd-doped TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesised by simple sol-gel method. The structure, morphology and physico-chemical properties of samples were characterised by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectra, transmission electron microscopy and N2 absorption and desorption isotherms. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements revealed that the samples exhibit extended light absorption frequencies in visible light region. The visible emission of TiO2 is found to be largely dependent on the defects and which were found to be tailored by varying Gd doping concentration. Room temperature magnetic studies reveal the transition from ferromagnetic to paramagnetic nature which occurs due to the high magnetic moment of Gd ions and its interaction with host lattice.