Application of [M(en)3]3[Fe(ox)3]2 (M = Zn, Cd, Ni) complexes as new precursor for the synthesis of ferrite micro/nanostructures

• Transition metal ferrites were synthesized by solid-state thermal decomposition method.
• New single-source precursors were applied to produce ferrite materials.
• The magnetic properties of the products were investigated by VSM.

This work presents solid-state thermal decomposition synthesis of transition metal ferrites (MFe2O4, M = Zn, Ni, Cd). In this method, binary complexes of [Zn(en)3]3[Fe(ox)3]2, [Cd(en)3]3[Fe(ox)3]2 and [Ni(en)3]3[Fe(ox)3]2 (where en = ethylenediamine and ox = oxalate) are introduced as new single-source precursors to fabricate ZnFe2O4, CdFe2O4 and NiFe2O4 micro/nanostructures, respectively. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) patterns show that pure CdFe2O4 and NiFe2O4 are formed by thermal decomposition of the single-source precursors at 800 °C. When thermal decomposition of [Zn(en)3]3[Fe(ox)3]2 complex is carried out at 700 and 800 °C, the final products are composed of ZnFe2O4 and metal oxides. It is interesting that pure ferrite materials are not formed by using metal salts instead of the binary complexes. Additionally, the particles prepared by using metal salts are highly agglomerated, and it is difficult to measure the individual particle size. The magnetic properties of the products measured by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) indicate that the zinc ferrite synthesized at 800 °C is superparamagnetic while the cadmium and nickel ferrites fabricated at 800 °C have ferromagnetic nature.

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