Effect of yttrium substitution in Fe-doped ZnO nanoparticles: An EPR study

Abstract In this work, we investigated the effect of Y3+ inclusion in ZnO nanoparticles doped with Fe3+ synthesized by the sol gel method. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) images showed agglomerated nanostructures with different shapes and average particle size distributions ranging from 6 nm to 44 nm in diameter. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) studies of the Zn0.98−yY0.02FeyO ( y = 0.00 , 0.02, 0.03 and 0.04) were carried out using X band (9.7 GHz) at room temperature. For undoped ZnO and doped with Y3+, complex line shapes were observed as a result of oxygen vacancies (VO+1). In addition, the Y3+ inclusion provokes an enhancement of the linewidth and the resonance field due to intrinsic defects in the hexagonal structure. This observation is compatible with a shortest relaxation time by reason of the particle size reduction and an extra antiferromagnetic local field as a result of the Y3+ presence. For co-doped ZnO samples, the EPR spectra confirms the presence of Fe3+ and Y3+ at the core Zn sites, altering the lattice strain of the ZnO structure. This result was monitored by the zero-field splitting (ZFS) parameters of the spin Hamiltonian, corroborating a reduction in the Fe - Fe interaction. The presence of Y ions was also confirmed in interstitial sites, resulting in a small g -shift from 4.2 to 4.0 associated with modifications of the rhombic component, E, of the Spin–Hamiltonian. This study contributes to the understanding of structural defects caused by the Y and Fe inclusion in the Wurtzite crystal structure of ZnO, a material with potential applications in spintronic devices.