We report the results of an ongoing investigation of the nanoscale semiconducting metal oxide (SnO2) and the effect of replacing tetravalent Sn4+ ions by divalent Zn2+ ions on their optical, magnetic and structural properties. Samples of zinc-doped tin (IV) oxide (ZnxSn1-xO2) crystalline nanoparticles have been made in a forced hydrolysis method. Preliminary experiments using x-ray diffraction (XRD) show the rutile tetragonal phase of SnO2 and show change in particle size with increasing zinc content with no secondary phase. Investigations of their magnetic properties using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) show the emergence of novel magnetic properties with increasing doping content. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine the elemental composition and the accurate Zn dopant concentration. At higher Zn doping concentrations, a fraction of the Sn4+ ions on the surface of the ~3nm particles change to Sn2+ ions. Details and more characterization techniques of these results will be presented
