Synthesis of vanadium doped ZnO nanoparticles by sol-gel method and its characterization

The synthesis of Zn1-x V (x) O nanoparticles by a sol-gel processing technique for x ranging from 0 to 0.08 was reported in this work. In our approach, the water for hydrolysis was slowly released by esterification reaction followed by a supercritical drying in ethyl alcohol. The obtained nanopowder was characterized by various techniques. The results of X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscope indicated that the V ion was incorporated in to the crystal lattices of wurtzite ZnO nanparticles. Photolumunescence (PL) spectra consist of a very wide and strong emission band located in the visible range where the intensity and energy position depend on the PL measurement temperature. Magnetic measurements at room temperature showed a diamagnetic for undoped ZnO and ferromagnetic behavior after doping with vanadium. The mechanism of nanoparticles formation and the comparison with recent results are discussed.