Modification of the optical and structural characteristics of ZnMn<inf>2</inf>O<inf>4</inf> upon combining with nano-MnS

Abstract

(1-x) ZnMn2O4/xMnS nanosamples were formed using co-precipitation and molten solid-state methods. The possibility of forming solid solution or nanocomposite between ZnMn2O4 (ZMO) and MnS was examined using Rietveld procedure. The influence of insertion of Mn and S ions into the ZMO lattice on the lattice parameters, cations occupancies and the bond’s lengths in tetrahedral and octahedral sites was studied using X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. To confirm the inclusion of S ions in the solid solution samples and to determine the valence states of the different ions, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data were collected and analyzed. The influence of insertion of Mn and S ions in ZMO lattice on the absorption, refractive index, electric parameters, nonlinear behavior and the emitted colors was investigated using UV diffused absorbance technique. Insertion of Mn and S ions in ZMO lattice decreased the optical band gap irregularly.