Room Temperature Ferromagnetism and Nickel Addition Effects in Titanium Dioxide

Un-doped and Ni doped TiO2 samples were fabricated using solid state reaction technique. The composition was adjusted according to the molecular weights. The samples were calcined and sintered in a digital furnace. The Nickel content xNi in host TiO2 lattice was adjusted as xNi = 0.00 and 0.02. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed rutile phase for both TiO2 samples. The phase segregation took place at xNi = 0.02 with the formation of NiO, and Ni2O3. Crystallite size, calculated from Scherer's formula, decreased with the increase of Ni content. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) depicted porosity, inhomogeneous grain distribution. The Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) showed the room temperature (RT) ferromagnetic in both samples.