Enhanced Room Temperature Ferromagnetism in Polyethylene Glycol Capped Sn0.99-xCuxCr0.01O2 Nanoparticles
K. Subramanyam1, N. Sreelekha2, D. Amaranatha Reddy3, G. Murali4, R. P. Vijayalakshmi5

1R.P. Vijayalakshmi, Department of Physics, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), India.
2K.Subramanyam, Department of Physics, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), India.
3N.Sreelekha, Department of Physics, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), India.
4D.Amaranatha Reddy, Department of Physics, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), India.
5G.Murali, Department of Physics, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), India.
Manuscript received on 12 November 2014 | Revised Manuscript received on 22 November 2014 | Manuscript Published on 30 November 2014 | PP: 27-32 | Volume-4 Issue-6, November 2014 | Retrieval Number: F1853114614/14©BEIESP
Open Access | Editorial and Publishing Policies | Cite | Mendeley | Indexing and Abstracting
© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Abstract: Sn0.99-xCuxCr0.01O2 (x=0.00, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05 and 0.07) nanoparticles were synthesized by simple chemical co-precipitation method using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a surfactant for the first time. EDAX spectra confirmed the presence of Cr and Cu in the host material with near stoichiometric ratio. The results from XRD studies indicated that the synthesized samples had a single phase rutile type tetragonal crystal structure as that of (P42/mnm) SnO2. TEM analysis revealed that the average particle size lies in the range of 8-10 nm. Optical absorption spectra and corresponding Tauc’s plots showed a blueshift in optical absorption band edge, the bandgap widening with increasing Cu concentration in Sn0.99-xCuxCr0.01O2 nanoparticles can be well explained in terms Burstein–Moss effect. From magnetization measurements it is noticed that the saturation magnetization increases for 1% of Cu doping, then decreased with increasing the Cu concentration. The observed magnetic behavior is well supported with the bound magnetic polarons (BMPs) model.
Keywords: Cu Co-Doping, Chemical Synthesis, Burstein–Moss Effect, FTIR Spectra, Room Temperature Ferromagnetism.

Scope of the Article: Bio-Science and Bio-Technology