Tailoring the Structure, Optical and Shielding Characteristics of ZnMn₂O₄ Nanostructures through Sn-Doping

Abstract

The current study aims to tailor the structure, optical and shielding characteristics of ZnMn 2 O 4 nanostructures through Sn-doping. ZnMn 2−x Sn x O 4 nanostructures were synthesized by the sol-gel technique. The sample containing 5% Sn exhibits the highest level of absorbance. ZnMn 2−x Sn x O 4 system exhibits a maximum optical energy gap value of 2.55 eV when doped with 10% Sn, and a minimum optical energy gap value of 2.23 eV when doped with 5% Sn. The refractive index values of the samples containing 5 and 10% Sn are the highest in comparison to the other samples. The values of the non-linear optical parameters became maximum as x = 0.05. The radiation shielding constants were computed by Phy-X/PSD software. The half value length and tenth value length values reduced as ZnMn 2 O 4 doped with Sn, implying that doped samples have better shielding capabilities than undoped ZnMn 2 O 4 . When compared to doped samples, ZnMn 2 O 4 has the highest fast neutron removal cross-section value. ZnMn 2-x Sn x O 4 samples demonstrate a greater rate of absorption for photons with lower energy as opposed to those with higher energy.