An easy mechanical way to create ferromagnetic defective ZnO

We present an experiment for the creation of unconventional ferromagnetism in pure ZnO powder by application of mechanical force. The ferromagnetism is related to flake like structures in planar compressed pieces of the powder with easy axis in the plane. It is associated with defect creation and disappears upon annealing in oxygen. Besides cluster formation, such defects might be one of the non-intrinsic origins of ferromagnetism in transition metal doped ZnO.