Room-Temperature Ferromagnetism Induced by High-Pressure Hydrogenation of ZnO

Abstract

In this work, we report direct evidence of ferromagnetism in hydrogenated ZnO sub-micrometric powders. Hydrogen (H2) was incorporated under a high-pressure heat treatment in a sealed reactor. Ferromagnetism at room temperature can be activated and deactivated by annealing in H2 and air atmospheres, respectively. Hydrogen incorporation in ZnO structure was observed from X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectra where hydrogen acts as a shallow donor transferring electrons to the conduction band (Zn 4s). The Raman measurements evidence clear distortions in chemical environments of Zn atoms associated with defect formation. Our results suggest that magnetism is a superficial phenomenon probably related to the surface bonding of hydrogen to Zn (or O) on polar ZnO surfaces.