Evaluating potential of Cr-doped indium oxide nanoparticles as a DMS material.

Cr-doped In2O3 nanoparticles have been prepared via combustion method. Glycine fuel was used for the synthesis. The prepared compounds were evaluated for their potential as a dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS) by studying their magnetic properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern was studied to identify the crystal structure of pristine and doped In2O3 compounds. Morphology and particle size of the compounds have been estimated using transmission electron microscope (TEM). Valence state of the elements was found out by making use of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique. Electrical resistivity has been measured which displayed higher resistance value for doped samples. Magnetisation studied with vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) at room temperature displayed weak ferromagnetism in the doped samples. The measurements at 50 K displayed antiferromagnetic/paramagnetic alignment. The importance of preparative method, nano-size, room-temperature defects and oxygen vacancies in regulating magnetism in DMS has been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]