The influence of Nd3+doping on the structural, optical, magnetic, and dielectric characteristics of nanoscale hexagonal wurtzite type ZnO

Nd3+ doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) Zn1_xNdxO (x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05) were successfully synthesized via simple co-precipitation method. To extract precise crystallite size and lattice strain from the X -Ray Diffraction (XRD) pattern, Halder-Wagner method was employed. High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) analysis clearly substantiates the NPs formation. The band gap variation in the doped samples in comparison with the pristine sample is extracted from UV-Vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy. The decrease in Photo -luminance (PL) intensity is observed to be significant for enhanced photocatalytic applications. At room temperature (RT), all Nd3+doped ZnO samples exhibit a distinct hysteretic loop. The initial magnetization graph and M -T curve fitted by the modified Brillouin function and combination of spin wave and Curie -Weiss law respectively. The well-fittings indicate the co-existence of paramagnetic (PM) and ferromagnetic (FM) phases in the doped sample, and the quantitative contribution to each phase is also extracted. Significantly high dielectric constant and low ac conductivity at a low frequency region support the presence of large dipolar effect-induced frequency-dependent short -range conductivity in these pristine and Nd3+ doped ZnO samples.