Structural and Magnetic Properties of Cobalt and Aluminum Co-Doped ZnO Powders

A series of Zn0.95-xCo0.05AlxO (x=0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.08, 0.10) powders with different percentages of aluminum was fabricated using the sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that the Co ions and Al ions substitute for Zn2+ ions without changing the wurtzite structure. No impurity phases were found. No clusters or precipitates of cobalt or aluminum were found using scanning electron microscope analysis. Fourier transform-infrared reflection (FT-IR) spectrometry was used to examine the infrared transmission properties and revealed that Co ions were incorporated into the lattice as Co2+ substituting for Zn2+. Ferromagnetic behavior in the samples was obtained at room temperature. As the Al content x increased, the room temperature ferromagnetism of the samples was reduced, and when x increased to 0.08, the room temperature ferromagnetism disappeared.