Ferromagnetic Sc-doped AlN sixfold-symmetrical hierarchical nanostructures

Sc-doped AlN (AlN:Sc) sixfold-symmetrical hierarchical nanostructures were grown by direct current (dc) arc discharge plasma method using the direct reaction of Al and Sc metals with N 2 gas. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray diffractometry, and Raman spectra analysis clearly showed that Sc was doped in the AlN hierarchical nanostructures. The magnetization curves indicate the existence of room-temperature ferromagnetic behavior. The saturation magnetization and the coercive fields ( H c ) of the AlN:Sc nanostructures are about 0.04 emu g − 1 and 200 Oe, respectively. The results reveal that Sc is a potential nonmagnetic dopant for preparing diluted magnetic semiconductor nanomaterials.