Effect of Terbium Doping on the Structural and Magnetic Properties of ZnS Nanoparticles

The authors have presented synthesis and structural and magnetic properties of Tb (0, 2, 4, and 6 at.%)doped ZnS semiconducting nanoparticles and employed via chemical co-precipitation process using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as capping agent. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) studies confirm the formation of singlephase, cubic structure, nanometric samples (˜10 nm). Highresolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analyses of the suspensions revealed the size of the particles in the range 5–8 nm. The undoped ZnS sample displayed the expected diamagnetic behavior and the terbiumdoped ZnS samples exhibited room temperature paramagnetic character as a function of Tbdoping concentration.The observed paramagnetism may be due to the random distribution of the terbium ions into the ZnS crystal lattice giving rise to the formation of feeble interaction.