Experimental and theoretical studies on the magnetic property of carbon-doped ZnO

• Published in: Physics letters. A Vol. 374; no. 3; pp. 496 - 500
• Main Authors: Ye, X.J., Liu, C.S., Zhong, W., Song, H.A., Au, C.T., Du, Y.W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 04.01.2010
• Subjects: Carbon-doped ZnO; Ferromagnetism; First-principle calculation; 75.50.Pp; First-principle calculation; Ferromagnetism; 75.47.-m; Carbon-doped ZnO; 71.15.Mb
• ISSN: 0375-9601; 1873-2429
• DOI: 10.1016/j.physleta.2009.11.021

Intrinsic room-temperature ferromagnetism was detected over n-type carbon-doped ZnO prepared through solid-state reaction. Our results of first-principle calculations based on density functional theory revealed that the CZn 4O 12 unit is the origin of magnetic moment in the carbon-doped ZnO system. The carbon component has a significant contribution to the net magnetic moment, and any oxygen vacancy present in CZn 4O 12 has a negative effect on the magnetic properties of the system. Moreover, both antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic interactions are predicted among carbon atoms located at different C C distances. The result suggests that the defect density influenced by the distribution of carbon has a significant effect on the magnetic properties of the carbon-doped ZnO system.