Synthesis, structure and ESR studies of Mg doped ZnAlO nanoparticles

Zn_0.98-xMg_xAl_0.02O solutions with different (x=0.05, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20) compositions were synthesized by the sol-gel technique using Zn, Mg and Al based alkoxide. The effects of highly Mg doping ratio on structure and magnetic properties were investigated systematically. The phase and the crystal structure of the Zn_0.98-xMg_xAl_0.02O nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffraction. Scanning Electron Microscope and X-ray diffraction were utilized to understand the size and microstructure of samples. We observed the particle sizes of nanoparticles between 80 nm and 100 nm range. Furthermore, ESR spectra of Zn_0.98-xMg_xAl_0.02O nanoparticles were collected at room temperature on a Bruker EMX model X-band spectrometer operating at a frequency of 9.50 GHz. It is observed that the critical concentration of Mg, x=0.1, has minimum g-factor and maximum line-width (W).