Abstract
Herein, the effect of different TM (Co, Ni and Cu) doping on structural, optical and magnetic properties of ZnO nanostructures has been studied. Zn1-x TM (x) O (TM=Co, Ni and Cu) nanostructures were prepared by a microwave assisted chemical route and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis and magnetization measurements. XRD and TEM analyses showed that the TM-doped ZnO nanostructures had single phase nature with the wurtzite structure. Changes in the lattice volume, bandgap energy, morphology and the saturation magnetization of Zn1-x TM (x) O nanostructures were found to be dependent on the type of TM dopants. Lattice volume, bondlength and bandgap determined from XRD and UV-Vis, respectively, were found to decrease as the atomic number of the dopant increased from Co to Cu. Magnetic studies showed that all the TM-doped ZnO exhibited room temperature ferromagnetism and the decreasing trend of saturation magnetization was observed with the increase of 3d electrons number from Co to Cu.