Structural and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline zinc-doped metal ferrites (metal=Ni; Mn; Cu) prepared by sol–gel combustion method

In this work, nanocrystalline M–Zn ferrites (M=Ni; Mn; Cu) with compositions of M1−xZnxFe2O4 (x=0.0, 0.2 and 0.4) were synthesized from metal nitrate precursors by rapid the sol–gel combustion method using diethanolamine (DEA) as the fuel. As-synthesized powders were calcined at 1000 °C for 4 h. The crystal structures and morphologies of these compounds were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), respectively. The chemical interaction of ferrite powders was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The magnetic properties of after-calcined nanoparticles were measured at room temperature using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The single phase spinel cubic structure formation is confirmed by XRD and FTIR results. Meanwhile FE-SEM micrographs show the appearance of both undoped and Zn-doped ferrite ceramic samples. In addition, the VSM analyses indicate that the Zn content has a significant influence on the magnetic properties such as saturation magnetization (Ms) and coercivity (Hc).