Effect of Annealing on Structural, Optical, and Magnetic Properties of Zn0.90Ni0.10P2 Nanoparticles

Abstract

Zinc phosphide nanoparticles doped with Nickel (Zn_0.90Ni_0.10P₂) were created via a solid-state process and then vacuum-annealed at two distinct temperatures (573 K and 873 K) and pressures of 2 × 10^-2 mbar. The impact of different annealing conditions on the synthetic materials' optical, magnetic, and structural properties was examined. The produced samples clearly maintained a tetragonal structure, as shown by the X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, and the diffraction peaks show no observable signs of extra nickel or other impurities. As the annealing temperature was raised from 573 K to 873 K, the crystallite size increased from 31.597 nm to 32.019 nm, and the lattice parameters showed a positive correlation from a = 8.1096Å, c = 11.1098Å to a = 8.1722Å, c = 11.1286Å. According to the Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis, the dopant concentration closely resembles the intended atomic ratio. As the annealing temperature was raised, the Zn_0.90Ni_0.10P₂ nanoparticles' optical band gap increased from 1.443 eV to 1.449 eV. The analysis of the Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) data shows that the annealing temperatures and saturation magnetization are positively correlated. The values of saturation magnetization, coercivity, and retentivity at 573 K and 873 K Zn_0.90Ni_0.10P₂ are 0.1499 emu/g, 69.52 Oe, 0.0039 emu/g,0.1676 emu/g, 65.46 Oe, and 0.0040 emu/g, respectively.