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Nanocrystalline samples of ZnCr0.4Fe1.6O4ferrite were synthesized by the advanced sol–gel method to investigate the effect of 200 MeV Ag+15ion irradiation on the cation distribution, magnetic and dielectric properties. Rietveld profile refinement of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirms the single-phase cubic spinel structure of the specimens. The irradiated sample retains the cubic spinel structure with a slight increase in the lattice parameters and the average crystallite size. Temperature- and field-dependent dc magnetization studies show an appreciable enhancement in the saturation magnetization and blocking temperature of the irradiated samples, which could be attributed to the slight increase in the particle size due to the heat evolved during irradiation. Subsequently, the rearrangement of cations in the lattice structure and the ion-induced modifications on the surface states of the nanoparticles could be accountable. The room temperature dielectric constant and the loss tangent in the frequency range 75 kHz–10 MHz revealed the normal frequency dispersion. The increase in ϵrand tan δ on irradiation could be attributed to the slight crystal growth and hence the availability of the sufficient number of Fe2+and/or Zn3+ions particularly at the octahedral site on the grain boundaries, showing a fair agreement with the magnetization results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There are several confronting reports of room temperature ferromagnetic (FM) ordering in bulk as well as thin films of dilutely doped or even some undoped semiconductors. We have synthesized and characterized dilute Mn-doped (2 and 4%) ZnO pellets. SQUID measurements confirm that the 2% Mn sample shows the FM ordering above the room temperature and the FM contribution coming mainly from the bulk. However, the ordering gets completely quenched for 4% Mn doping. Upon cooling down, the 2% Mn-doped sample shows further enhancement in the magnetic properties while the 4% sample did not show any FM ordering down to 5K. The powerful X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) was employed to compare the electronic structure of these two samples. The XPS results show that the manganese shifts toward the higher valence state upon Mn doping while there is no change in the zinc and oxygen valence. The atomic concentration of divalent Mn state is found to be dominant in the ferromagnetic sample. For the non-ferromagnetic sample, a larger contribution of higher oxidation Mn states is present that is correlated to the suppressed ferromagnetism. Interestingly, the oxygen content is also found to be higher in the 4% Mn sample than that in the 2% Mn sample that has been attributed to the charge neutrality of the samples. The present study provides evidence that the magnetization originates neither from any precipitating secondary phase nor from the oxygen content but the Mn2+ state plays a significant role for the FM properties in the Mn-doped ZnO system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]