Influence of chromium incorporation on optoelectronic and magnetic properties of Zn1−xCrxS nanocrystals

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 31; no. 24; pp. 22572 - 22586
• Main Authors: El Zawawi, I. K., El Desouky, Fawzy G., Mahdy, Manal A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Banded structure; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chromium; Diamagnetism; Emission spectra; Energy gap; Ferromagnetism; Fourier transforms; Hexagonal phase; Investigations; Magnetic properties; Materials Science; Nanocrystals; Nanoparticles; Optical and Electronic Materials; Optoelectronics; Particle size; Photoluminescence; Zinc sulfide
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-020-04769-7

A series of Zn 1− x Cr x S powder with ( x  = 0–0.18) has been obtained by hydrothermal synthesis. Hexagonal phase nanocrystalline structure of powder samples has been emphasized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) showing particle size ranging from ~ 7 to 11 nm. FE-SEM confirms the nanostructure nature of samples. Elemental compositional analysis confirmed the accurate atomic percentage of existing elements using EDX technique. FTIR spectra of Zn 1− x Cr x S powder samples indicate different bands corresponding to their structure. The fundamental optical bandgap transition observed at 3.36 eV and additional transitions exist for Cr-doped ZnS samples. Photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra of Zn 0.82 Cr 0.18 S nanoparticle powder pumped with different excitation wavelengths (200–290 nm) showed different emission peaks, the highest intensity peak at 398 nm is due to fundamental transition of bandgap which agree with the optical results. The sample with x  = 0.11 displays the most intense PL signal. Diamagnetic behavior was observed for ZnS compound whereas ferromagnetic behavior was observed for ZnS-doped with Cr.