Multifunctional properties of gadolinium doped annealed zinc oxide nanoparticles

In the present study, Zn1−x Gdx O (x = 0.02) nanoparticles have been synthesized by chemical route (Sol-Gel Method) using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as chelating agent. These materials are annealed from 500 °C−1000 °C with a step size of 100 °C temperature. The multifunctional properties of the prepared materials have been studied in view of their structural, morphological, optical, magnetic, and mechanical characteristics. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies have shown that ZnO (zinc oxide) nano powders are crystallized in the Wurtzite hexagonal structure, and the structural parameters have been determined. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) study conducted on a sample annealed at 900 °C revealed nanoparticles size as ∼22 nm. Spherical nanoparticles with irregular particle morphology was observed from SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) images. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) accorded the existence of elementary components of the prepared samples. The characteristic peaks of ZnO are evident from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) study. The bandgap energies from UV–visible studies levied to decrease from 3.31 eV to 3.13 eV with annealing temperatures. Near band edge emission exhibited redshift from Photoluminescence (PL) study with the increase in annealing temperature. The Dilute Magnetic Semiconductor (DMS) nature was observed on the studied materials, making them promising materials for multifunctional spin-based applications. The study of Mechanical properties suggests that these materials may find applications as cutting fluids, nanofillers and nanolubricant additives.