Structural and dielectric study of nano-crystalline single phase Sn1−xNixS (xNi=0-10%) showing room temperature ferromagnetism

SnS is a promising IV-VI semiconductor, which is very less explored for diluted magnetic semiconducting and dielectric applications. In this study, the Ni doping (xNi=0-10 mol%) effects on SnS host lattice were investigated. A simple and low cost co-precipitation technique was employed to grow Ni doped SnS powders. The X-ray diffraction confirmed single phase orthorhombic structure with a nano-crystalline nature that was further verified through the surface structure observed by scanning electron microscopy. Near edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy revealed a shift in the Ni absorption edge towards higher energy, depicting the formation of Ni+3 oxidation state. The impedance measurements, in the frequency range 1 kHz to 20 MHz, depict that owing to the excellent sensitivity to the electromagnetic radiations at the low energy, the Ni doped SnS finds potential applications in various energy related devices. Vibrating sample magnetometer measurements have elucidated room temperature ferromagnetism, which depicts potential memory device applications.