Investigation on structural and nonlinear optical properties of Al and Cu doped ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles

Abstract

Copper and aluminum substituted ZnFe2O4 [Zn1-x-yCuxAlyFe2O4 (x and y = 0, 0.05, 0.15, and 0.25)] nanoparticles were prepared by microwave combustion technique. The crystal structures were confirmed by x-ray techniques, and the sizes ranged from 11 to 25 nm of copper and aluminum doped ZnFe2O4. The stretching frequencies are displayed by FT-IR spectra. The bandgap range is between 1.97 and 1.88 eV with substituting concentrations of Al3+ and Cu2+, which is due to the calculation by the Kubelka-Munk formula and the formation of sub-bands. The morphology was displayed by FE-SEM analysis. The EDX spectrum showed the elements of Zn, Al, Cu, Fe, and O. M-H loops showed that ZnFe2O4 has diamagnetism, where copper and aluminum doped ZnFe2O4 has ferromagnetic behavior. The nonlinear absorption coefficient (10−4 cm/W), susceptibility (10−6 esu), and refraction (10−8 cm2/W) were observed by Z-scan techniques. The optical limiting analyses confirm that these samples are feasible candidates for the development of optical devices, power limiters, and switches.