The influence of cobalt on the physical properties of ZnO nanostructures

• Published in: Physica scripta Vol. 89; no. 10; pp. 105802 - 8
• Main Authors: Zia, A, Shah, N A, Ahmed, S, Khan, E U
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IOP Publishing 01.10.2014
• Subjects: co-precipitation; Cobalt; Coprecipitation; dilute magnetic semiconductor; Dopants; Nanoparticles; Nanostructure; nanostructured; Scanning electron microscopy; Wurtzite; Zinc oxide
• ISSN: 0031-8949; 1402-4896
• DOI: 10.1088/0031-8949/89/10/105802

ZnO and cobalt doped ZnO (ZnO:Co) nanoparticles with different doping concentrations have been synthesized using the coprecipitation method at room temperature. The crystal structure, phase purity and morphologic features were examined using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The prepared nanoparticles exhibit a single phase ZnO wurtzite structure and show that cobalt ions, in the oxidation state of Co2+, incorporated Zn2+ ions into the ZnO matrix without changing its wurtzite structure with a spherical shape. The energy band gap of ZnO:Co nanoparticles decreased with the increase in dopant content, resulting in red shift of the wavelength and an increase in particle size. The magnetic characterization reveals that magnetization increased with the increase in dopant concentration at room temperature. The electrical behaviour shows an increase in resistance with the increase in dopant levels.