ZnO:Fe nanoparticles with Fe fraction up to 10%mol – growth and characterization

ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) doped with iron were synthesized by the microwave-hydrothermal method using various reagents. The properties of these NPs were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL), cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements. In the article, we discuss the surprising results of optical studies of ZnO:Fe NPs. The phenomenon of luminescence quenching by the magnetic ion, characteristic for bulk materials, was not observed. We examined three potential reasons for this observation.