Synthesis, structure and ESR studies of Mg doped ZnAlO nanoparticles

•Zn0.98−xMgxAl0.02O, (0.05≤x≤0.20) nanoparticles were prepared by sol–gel technique.•The Mg concentration is increased, the agglomeration and malting of nanoparticles increase.•Rietveld analysis of ZnMgAlO shows single phase (ZnO) for x<0.2 concentration.•The critical concentration of Mg is x=0.1 to have minimum g-factor and maximum line-width W.

Zn0.98−xMgxAl0.02O solutions with different (x=0.05, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20) compositions were synthesized by the sol–gel technique using Zn, Mg and Al based alkoxide. The effects of highly Mg doping ratio on structure and magnetic properties were investigated systematically. The phase and the crystal structure of the Zn0.98−xMgxAl0.02O nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffraction. Scanning Electron Microscope and X-ray diffraction were utilized to understand the size and microstructure of samples. We observed the particle sizes of nanoparticles between 80 nm and 100 nm range. Furthermore, ESR spectra of Zn0.98−xMgxAl0.02O nanoparticles were collected at room temperature on a Bruker EMX model X-band spectrometer operating at a frequency of 9.50 GHz. It is observed that the critical concentration of Mg, x=0.1, has minimum g-factor and maximum line-width (W).