Structural and magnetic characterization of (TM=Co, Fe) doped SnO$_{2 }$ nanostructures

Recent indications of intrinsic room-temperature (RT) ferromagnetism in transition metal doped-SnO$_{2}$ have increased its attractiveness as promising material for nano-optoelectronic and spintronics-based devices. A control over dopant speciation and the determination of the size-dependence of the properties at the nanoscale, become then indispensable. We present here the conditions for the room-temperature synthesis of doped SnO$_{2}$ in ethanol using SnCl$_{2}$ and LiHO precursors, and the characterization of the resulting bare, Co and Fe- doped SnO$_{2}$ powders. X-ray diffraction patterns of bare and doped SnO$_{2}$ showed the formation of an amorphous structure from the produced powder at RT. However, a pure phase of rutile structure was observed when the samples were annealed in air or Ar at 400$^{\circ}$C. 100nm diameter wires were observed after annealing using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results of magnetic characterization of the materials using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) will also be presented and discussed.