Ferromagnetism of Ni cluster in Ni-doped ZnO by solid state reaction

Ni-doped ZnO samples with ferromagnetism at room temperature have been prepared by solid state reaction. It is found that the ferromagnetism originates from the nanosized Ni clusters formed from the decomposition of NiO during calcination. The magnetic properties can be explained by the microstructure of sparsely distributed, randomly oriented and magnetically saturated Ni clusters. Experiments show that the addition of Cu ions will block the decomposition of NiO because Cu²⁺ is more likely reduced to Cu⁺. Hall effect confirms the absence of exchange coupling between local spins and charge carriers.