Magnetism in Co-doped ZrO2 nanoparticles

FRANCISCO GONZALEZ PINTO; MARIANO ANDRÉS PAULÍN; JOAQUIN SACANELL; ANA GABRIELA LEYVA

Buenos Aires

Workshop; X Latin American Workshop in Magnetism and Magnetic Materials (X-LAW3M); 2013

LAW3M

Development of spintronics has promoted the study of materials in which magnetism and electrical transport are correlated. Those materials should have a high spin polarization and also present structural compatibility with existing semiconductors. Among materials that meet these requirements are the diluted magnetic oxides such as doped ZrO2. In its pure state the system is diamagnetic, but when doped with magnetic elements such as Cobalt, the compound results paramagnetic or ferromagnetic. As seen in other systems like CeO2, this behaviour can be linked to its ability to accommodate oxygen vacancies. In this work we study the magnetic properties of ZrO2 nanoparticles doped with Cobalt as a function of doping and the relative concentration of oxygen vacancies. Results indicate that magnetism is increased in samples with higher concentration of oxygen vacancies and can be reversed by performing thermal treatments in oxidizing atmosphere.