Currently, wide-gap ZnO nanoparticles bear important potential application in electro-optical devices, transparent ultraviolet protection films, and spintronic devices. We have studied the magnetic properties of nanocrystals of ZnO(Fe, Co, Mn) prepared by two methods of synthesis. We have used the microwave assisted hydrothermal synthesis and traditional wet chemistry method followed by calcination. The detailed structural characterization was performed by means of X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman spectroscopy measurements. The morphology of the samples was studied by means of SEM and TEM microscopy. The results of systematic measurements of AC magnetic susceptibility as a function of temperature and frequency as well as SQUID magnetization are presented. The SQUID magnetization measurements revealed a clear bifurcation of the FC and ZFC plots. Such behavior suggested superparamagnetic behavior above the blocking temperature. The dynamic magnetic measurements were performed at small AC magnetic field with amplitude not exceeding 5 Oe and different frequency values (from 7 Hz to 9970 Hz). For ZnO(Fe) and ZnO(Mn), the AC susceptibility maxima has been found for in-phase susceptibility Re(χ) and for out of phase susceptibility Im(χ). We analyzed the observed frequency dependence of the peak temperature in the AC susceptibility curve using the empirical parameter Φ that is a quantitative measure of the frequency shift and is given by the relative shift of the peak temperature per decade shift in frequency, as well as Vogel- Fulcher law. We observed two different types of magnetic behavior, spin-glasslike behavior or superparamagnetic behavior, depending on the synthesis process. For ZnO(Co) nanocrystalline samples high temperature Curie-Weiss behavior in AC magnetic susceptibility was observed. We observed that the determined negative values of the Curie- Weiss temperature θ depend strongly on the nominal content of cobalt oxide. It was shown that for calcination method the values of θ increase with the increase of magnetic ion content indicating enhancement of predominance of antiferromagnetic interactions. For hydrothermal method the opposite effect was observed indicating the breakdown of predominance of aniferromagnetic coupling with the increase of nominal magnetic ion content. This paper gives an in-depth discussion of the structural and magnetic properties of ZnO nanocrystals in addition to the technological issues such as different methods of wet chemical synthesis.

Single phase cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) with nanoparticles of similar sizes (15.7-19 nm) was obtained by different synthesis methods: coprecipitation, ultrasonically assisted coprecipitation, coprecipitation followed by mechanochemical treatment, microemulsion and microwave assisted hydrothermal synthesis. The obtained CoFe2O4 samples have been studied using a variety of characterization techniques: X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, far infrared (FIR) reflectivity and attenuated total reflectance (ATR) in combination with Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy in mid IR spectra. Different methods of synthesis produced nanoparticles with different lattice constants, internal stresses and different cation inversion values. This is confirmed in the subtle changes in the Raman and IR spectra of different CoFe2O4 nano-powders. The Raman spectra of CoFe2O4 were compared with the spectra of other ferrites and some cubic oxide spinels in an attempt to evaluate the contribution of tetrahedral and octahedral oscillations in certain Raman modes.

Pb1-xMnxTe crystals were obtained by the Bridgman method and PbTe1-xSx crystals were grown by the vapour-liquid-solid technique. The structural properties of Pb1-xMnxTe (x?0.10) and PbTe 1-xSx(x?0.05) were observed by X-ray powder diffraction analysis. The optical properties were studied by Raman spectroscopy as a function of temperature. Measurements on these samples of different composition gave information about the Mn and S position in the lattice (off-centering), their clustering and ordering, as well as of the influence of these processes on the crystal structure and properties. The model of phonon behavior based on the Random Element Isodisplacement model was applied, and it was found that the phonons in PbTe 1-xSx show a two-mode behavior (each TO-LO mode pair of the end members degenerates to an impurity mode), while the Pb1-xMnxTe optical phonons have a intermediate one-two-mode behavior (the LO-mode frequency shifts continuously from PbTe to MnTe, while the other modes resemble the two-mode case). .