Diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) exhibiting ferromagnetic behaviour above room temperature are considered key materials for the development of spintronic devices. Among them, TM-doped (TM = Co, Fe) TiO₂ based oxides are considered very promising materials to achieve such goals.

In this work we report a new and swift chemical route to synthesise nanoparticles of such oxides. The synthesis of Ti_1-xTM_xO₂ (0≤x≤0.10) anatase phase nanocrystallites was achieved via precipitation of acid solutions of TiCl₃ and TM chlorides with ammonia followed by thermal treatment in autoclave with different suspension media. The Ti_1-xTM_xO₂ nanoparticles can be easily stored in suspensions and straightforwardly retrieved by centrifugation whenever necessary. Using such facility, thin films of Ti_1-xTM_xO₂ onto Si (100) substrates were prepared by dip- and spin-coating technique.

Both TM-doped TiO₂ nanopowders and films were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), electronic microscopy (TEM and SEM), electronic dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and absorption spectroscopy.

Acknowledgments: O.C. Monteiro thanks Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) for a pos-doc grant (SFRH/BPD/ 14554/2003). This work is supported by FCT, POCI and co-financed by FEDER (POCI/CTM/57019/2004)

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