The correlation between magnetic and structural properties of nanocrystalline transition metal-doped ZnO particles prepared by the co-precipitation method

► Fe-, Ni- and Mn-doped ZnO NP are successfully prepared by co-precipitation. ► Doping ions incorporated into ZnO lattice without changing its wurzite structure. ► Doping changed the energy band structure of ZnO. ► Fe-doped samples showed better RT-ferromagnetic property than the other two. ► This study indicate that, RT-ferromagnetism is intrinsic properties of the samples.