0000000000352620

AUTHOR

Sreekumar Rajappan Achary

Mn2+-induced room-temperature ferromagnetism and spin-glass behavior in hydrothermally grown Mn-doped ZnO nanorods

The magnetic properties of Mn-doped ZnO (ZnO:Mn) nanorods grown by hydrothermal process at a temperature of 200 °C and a growth time of 3 h have been studied. The samples were characterized by using powder X-ray diffraction with Rietveld refinement, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and SQUID magnetometry. Mn (3 wt%) and (5 wt%)-doped ZnO samples exhibit paramagnetic and ferromagnetic behavior, respectively, at room temperature. The spin-glass behavior is observed from the samples with respect to the decrease of temperature. At 10 K, both samples exhibit a hysteresis loop with relatively low coercivity. The room-temperature ferromagnetism in 5 wt% Mn-doped ZnO n…

research product

Enhanced UV emission from ZnO nanoflowers synthesized by the hydrothermal process

ZnO nanoflowers were synthesized by the hydrothermal process at an optimized growth temperature of 200 °C and a growth/reaction time of 3 h. As-prepared ZnO nanoflowers were characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV–visible and Raman spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction and Raman studies reveal that the as-synthesized flower-like ZnO nanostructures are highly crystalline with a hexagonal wurtzite phase preferentially oriented along the plane. The average length (234–347 nm) and diameter (77–106 nm) of the nanorods constituting the flower-like structure are estimated using scanning electron microscopy studies. The band gap of ZnO nanoflowers is estimated as 3.23 eV, the…

research product

One-step growth of isolated CdO nanoparticles on r-sapphire substrates by using the spray pyrolysis methodology

In spite of the remarkable properties of CdO, there are only a few reports on CdO nanostructures, especially on isolated NPs. In this paper, we analyze the growth of isolated CdO nanoparticles (NPs) on 0.5° miscut r-sapphire substrates by using the spray pyrolysis methodology in its classical configuration. A systematic study has been performed to optimize the growth parameters such as precursor concentration, growth time, spray rate and growth temperature to obtain CdO NPs (size: 6–10 nm to 35–100 nm depending on the growth conditions). The study shows the control over the size and density of the CdO nanoparticles that can be achieved by adjusting the growth parameters. The CdO nanoparticl…

research product

Growth and characterization of self-assembled Cd1−xMgxO (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) nanoparticles on r-sapphire substrates

In this work, the growth of isolated Cd1−xMgxO nanoparticles on r-sapphire substrates is extended to the entire range of Mg content (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) using the spray pyrolysis method. The sizes of the Cd1−xMgxO nanoparticles were in the ranges 4–6 nm and 15–30 nm (with a nanoparticle density of 1010 cm−2). The composition of the nanoparticles was determined using transmission electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray analysis (TEM-EDAX), while the compound formation was confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A systematic decrease in the a lattice parameter of Cd1−xMgxO on increasing the Mg content substantiated the successful incorporation of Mg2+ ions into the cubic CdO lattice. Sin…

research product

Self-assembled MgxZn1−xO quantum dots (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) on different substrates using spray pyrolysis methodology

By using the spray pyrolysis methodology in its classical configuration we have grown self-assembled MgxZn1−xO quantum dots (size [similar]4–6 nm) in the overall range of compositions 0 ≤ x ≤ 1 on c-sapphire, Si (100) and quartz substrates. Composition of the quantum dots was determined by means of transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray analysis (TEM-EDAX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Selected area electron diffraction reveals the growth of single phase hexagonal MgxZn1−xO quantum dots with composition 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.32 by using a nominal concentration of Mg in the range 0 to 45%. Onset of Mg concentration about 50% (nominal) forces the hexagonal lattice to undergo a p…

research product

Quenching and blue shift of UV emission intensity of hydrothermally grown ZnO:Mn nanorods

Abstract ZnO:Mn alloyed nanorods (Mn nominal concentration – 3–5 wt%) were synthesized by using hydrothermal process at an optimized growth temperature of 200 °C and a growth time of 3 h. The XRD, SEM and Raman, FTIR investigations reveal that ZnO:Mn (Mn – 3–5 wt%) retained hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure with nanorod morphology. The HRTEM and SAED analysis confirm the single crystalline nature of hydrothermally grown ZnO and ZnO:Mn (5 wt%) nanorods. The ZnO:Mn nanorods (Mn – 0–5 wt%) displayed optical band gap in the range 3.23–3.28 eV. The blue shift of UV emission peak (PL) from 393 (ZnO) to 386 nm and quenching of photoluminescence emission in ZnO:Mn is due to the Mn incorporation …

research product

Growth of tin oxide thin films composed of nanoparticles on hydrophilic and hydrophobic glass substrates by spray pyrolysis technique

Abstract In this paper, we have demonstrated the growth of tin oxide (SnO 2 ) thin films composed of nanoparticles on hydrophobic (siliconized) and hydrophilic (non-siliconized) glass substrates by using the spray pyrolysis technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the formation of SnO 2 thin films with tetragonal rutile-phase structure. Average particle size of nanoparticles was determined to be in the range of 3–4 nm measured from the front view images obtained by a field emission gun scanning electron microscope (FESEM), while the size of nanoparticle clusters, when present, were in the range of 11–20 nm. Surface morphology of SnO 2 films grown over hydrophobic substrates rev…

research product