Structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Mn doped ZnO nanoplates synthesized by electrodeposition method

The electronic, crystallographic and magnetic properties of ZnO thin films doped with manganese (Mn) agent were studied at various Mn concentrations. The samples were prepared electrochemically, under constant electric potential conditions. All Zn1-xMnxO (x = 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10%) samples exhibit typical wurtzite crystal structure with strong (002) orientation. The grains of samples are well-shaped and highly oriented nanoplates observed from SEM measurements. There is a strong correlation between the magnetic properties and electronic structure for all samples. The XPS analysis data revealed that Mn atoms are in oxidized state rather than metallic state. In addition, electron donation from Mn to Zn has changed the electronic structure of host lattice. The magnetic properties of samples are investigated by sweeping temperature and magnetic field. It is revealed that the antiferromagnetic interactions increases with Mn content in ZnO host lattice which is addressed by the formation of Mn-O-Mn bonding from the XPS data.