ROOM TEMPERATURE FERROMAGNETISM IN PURE AND Cu DOPED ZnO NANORODS: ROLE OF COPPER OR DEFECTS

We report structural, magnetic and electronic structure studies of pure and Cu doped ZnO nanorods with the aim to understand the origin of ferromagnetism. A structural study indicates that all the samples exhibit single phase nature and rules out the formation of secondary phase. NEXAFS measurements reveal that Cu ions exist in Cu 2+ state. Magnetic hysteresis loop measurements reflect that the pure and Cu doped ZnO nanorods exhibit room temperature ferromagnetism. The increase in the intensity of green emission in photoluminescence study indicates that defects density increases with Cu doping.