Fabrication, characterization and magnetic properties of Na-doped ZnO nanorods

Na-doped ZnO nanorods have been fabricated through a hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses indicate that the d spacing of ZnO increases with increasing doping concentration, suggesting the effective incorporation of dopant Na in the samples. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements indicate that there are shallow donors in pure ZnO samples and the shallow donors are strongly prohibited by Na doping. In addition, the resonance at g = 2.005 suggests the formation of Zn vacancies. Magnetic measurements indicate that pure ZnO is paramagnetic and Na doping leads to ferromagnetism at room temperature. Moreover, 0.5% Na-doped ZnO nanorods exhibits the largest saturation magnetization.