Magnetic and Optical Properties of Co-doped ZnO Nanorods

Transition-metal doped ZnO is considered as an ideal system for carrying out research in the field of spintronics as well as optoelectronics as they can successfully combine magnetism and electronics in a single substance. ZnO is a wurtzite-type wide-bandgap semiconductor of the II-VI semiconductor group with band gap energy of 3.37 eV. Synthesis of undoped and Co-doped ZnO nanorods is carried out using aqueous solutions of Zn(NO$_{3})_{2}$.6H$_{2}$O, and Co(C$_{2}$H$_{3}$OO)$_{2}$.4 H$_{2}$O, using NH$_{4}$OH as hydrolytic catalyst by hydrothermal process. For optimizing the nanorod growth condition, parameters such as concentration, pH, synthesis time and temperature are varied. Optimum condition for the growth of pure zinc oxide nanorods is found 0.15 M pH 9, 6 hrs and 130$^{\circ}$C respectively. Structural, morphological, optical and magnetic properties are studied using XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM, UV-vis spectroscopy, PL spectroscopy and SQUID magnetometer.Detailed structural, optical, and magnetic properties will be discussed in this presentation. This work is supported by National Science Foundation (Award Number DMR-0907037).