  We report the crystal structure and magnetic properties of Zn1-xCoxO
nanoparticles synthesized by heating metal acetates in organic solvent. The
nanoparticles were crystallized in wurtzite ZnO structure after annealing in
air and in a forming gas (Ar95%+H5%). The X-ray diffraction and X-ray
photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) data for different Co content show clear
evidence for the Co+2 ions in tetrahedral symmetry, indicating the substitution
of Co+2 in ZnO lattice. However samples with x=0.08 and higher cobalt content
also indicate the presence of Co metal clusters. Only those samples annealed in
the reducing atmosphere of the forming gas, and that showed the presence of
oxygen vacancies, exhibited ferromagnetism at room temperature. The air
annealed samples remained non-magnetic down to 77K. The essential ingredient in
achieving room temperature ferromagnetism in these Zn1-xCoxO nanoparticles was
found to be the presence of additional carriers generated by the presence of
the oxygen vacancies.
