Structural and Magnetic Properties of Nanopowders and Coatings of Carbon-Doped Zinc Oxide Prepared by Pulsed Electron Beam Evaporation

Abstract

With the help of electron beam evaporation of mechanical mixtures of nonmagnetic micron powders ZnO and carbon in vacuum with the subsequent annealing of evaporation products in air at the temperature of 773 K, single-phase crystal nanopowders ZnO-C were produced with the hexagonal wurtzite structure and low content of the carbon dopant not exceeding 0.25 wt%. It was established that doping ZnO with carbon stimulates primary growth of nanoparticles along the direction 0001 in the coatings. Nanocrystal growth in coatings occurs in the same way as crystal growth in thin films, with growth anisotropy in the c-axis direction in wurtzite ZnO. Element mapping has confirmed homogeneous distribution of carbon in ZnO lattice. Ferromagnetism of single-phase crystal nanopowders ZnO-C with the hexagonal wurtzite structure and low content of the carbon dopant not exceeding 0.25 wt% was produced at room temperature. Ferromagnetic response of the doped NP ZnO-C has exceeded the ferromagnetic response of pure NP ZnO 5 times. The anhysteretic form of magnetization curves NP ZnO-C indicates aspiration of samples to superparamagnetism manifestation.