Structural, Optic, and Magnetic Investigation of the Synthesized ZnO and Zn $_{0.99}$Co $_{0.01}$O Semiconductors via Solid State Reaction

Both ZnO and Zn
_0.99
Co
_0.01
O semiconductors were synthesized through solid state reaction via mechanical milling and thermal treatment. Initially the wurtzite ZnO structures of the synthesized particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Since these techniques were unable to identify both contamination atoms and Co distribution, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) was used. EDS showed a successful doping of Co atoms with the atomic ratio of 0.9 ± 0.1%, and also showed a contamination of tungsten (W) atoms, in the atomic ratio of 1.6 ± 0.2% for Zn
_0.99
Co
_0.01
O, and 1.3 ± 0.2% for ZnO. Substitutions of Co
⁺²
ions with Zn
⁺²
host atoms in the ZnO lattice were exposed through X-ray photo spectroscopy (XPS) data of Co 2p electronic energy levels. UV-vis absorption spectroscopy (UV-vis) was also used to prove Co substitutions in the ZnO lattice. This was revealed by a decrease in band gap from 3.25 ± 0.01 eV to 3.03 ± 0.01 eV, and the existence of newly permitted transitions between intra ionic
d
-
d
* levels. The ferromagnetic effect of Co doping in ZnO lattice was revealed by the coercivity of ~154±50 Oe and positive Curie-Weiss temperature, 79 ± 1 K. Beside ferromagnetic interactions, the calculated effective Bohr Magnetron (¿
_eff
), 0.32±0.01 ¿
_B
, suggested anti-ferromagnetic interactions due to be less than the theoretical spin based magnetic moment of Co
²⁺
ions, 3.0 ¿
_B
.