MnGa2O4 and Zn-doped MnGa2O4 1-dimensional nanostructures

Manganese gallium oxide (MnGa2O4) one-dimensional nanostructures were synthesized by the thermal evaporation of MnCl2/Ga/Zn. The single-crystalline spinel-structured MnGa2O4 nanowires are preferentially grown in the [111] direction. In contrast, the Zn (10%)-doped MnGa2O4 nanostructures adopt zigzag structures. Some of them are nanosprings that consist of four equivalent [011] growth directions with the axial [001] direction. The nanobelts often have two zigzagged [011] directions along the long axis parallel to the [112] direction. We discuss the growth model of these unique zigzagged nanostructures. The MnGa2O4 nanostructures exhibit the emission at 2.5 eV (7 K), which possibly originated from the d-d transition of the tetrahedrally coordinated Mn2+ ions, and the decreased intensity with the Zn doping. The magnetization measurements indicate that these MnGa2O4 nanostructures exhibit virtually paramagnetic behaviors.