Ferromagnetism at room temperature in Zn0.95Cu0.05O nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel method

Zn0.95Cu0.05O nanoparticle was synthesized by sol-gel method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis absorption, Energy dispersive analysis X-ray (EDX) and SQUID. XRD pattern reveals hexagonal wurtzite structure with the presence of secondary phase CuO. EDX measurements excluded the presence of any magnetic impurities in the sample. Room temperature ferromagnetism with saturation magnetization of 0.03 emu/g was observed. ZFC and ZC measurement confirmed the absence of ferromagnetic contamination and showed that ferromagnetic transition temperature is above 300 K. The origin of the ferromagnetism order is due to intrinsic defects induced by Cu ions substitution into Zn sites.