Synthesis and magnetic properties of single-crystalline Mn/Fe-doped and co-doped ZnS nanowires and nanobelts

ZnS nanowires and nanobelts doped with Mn and Fe were synthesized by a chemical vapor transport method. The Mn/Fe-doped and co-doped ZnS nanostructures were grown on Au-coated Si substrates. The key to this synthetic process of co-doping lies in the use of metal chloride as a metal carrier. Crystal structure and chemical compositional analyses by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicate that the nanowires and nanobelts are single-crystalline and uniformly doped with dopants. Strong emission bands were found from photoluminescence (PL) spectra of Mn/Fe-doped and co-doped ZnS nanowires. The magnetic property measurements from the nanostructure ensemble show that the Curie temperature is above room temperature. The synthesized Mn/Fe-doped and co-doped ZnS nanostructures can be employed in the fabrication of nanoscale magnetic and optical devices.