Optical and magnetic properties of Ni doped ZnO planetary ball milled nanopowder synthesized by co-precipitation

Ni doped ZnO nanopowders have been synthesized by the co-precipitation route followed by planetary ball milling. The synthesized powder was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM), UV–vis spectrophotometry, fluorescence spectrophotometry and Quantum Design PPMS for structural, morphological, microstructural, optical and magnetic properties measurements. All the samples show wurtzite hexagonal crystal structure. The optical absorption spectra show a shift in the position of band edge towards lower energy. The estimated band gap is found to decrease with higher nickel doping. The room temperature PL measurements illustrate UV emission centered at 390 nm (3.17 eV), which is ascribed to the near-band-edge (NBE) emissions of ZnO and broad green emission around 540 nm. Room temperature ferromagnetism in the Ni doped ZnO nanopowders has been confirmed by magnetic property measurements.