Structural and Magnetic properties of NiCuZn spinel ferrite nanoparticles synthesized by a sol – gel auto - combustion method

Spinel ferrite nanoparticles with composition of Ni0.6-xZn0.4CuxFe2O4 (x with the step of 0.1) was synthesizedby the sol – gel auto-combustion method. Molar ratio of metal nitrates to citric acid (MN:CA) were selected as (1:1) and(1:2). X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electronic microscope (FE-SEM), transmission electronicmicroscope (TEM), thermal gravity (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA), vibrating scanning magnetic (VSM), andzero field cooling (ZFC) were carried out in order to characterize the structural and magnetic properties of nanoparticles.It was found that citric acid and copper contents affect the size of particles. The XRD results confirmed the formation ofsingle phase of spinel ferrite nanoparticles for a whole series of samples. TEM images and FE-SEM micrographs revealedthat NiCuZn ferrite particles are in the nanometer range. VSM results clearly showed that particles size and magnetizationvalues of nanoparticles decreases with an increase in amounts of citric acid and copper. Also, ZFC curves obtained bySQUID confirmed that blocking temperature for Ni0.6-xZn0.4CuxFe2O4 ferrite increases with an increase in coppercontents.

کلیدواژه ها:

NiCuZn ferrite ، magnetic properties ، particles size ، citric acid ، Cu substitution