Structural characterization and magnetic study of NiFexO4 synthesized by co-precipitation method

• This report presents the synthesis of NiFe2±xO4 by co-precipitation method.
• XRD results confirm the single cubic spinel phase formation.
• The particle size decreased with variation of iron content.
• Remnant magnetization MR increased with increasing concentration up to x=2.0 and then decreases for x=2.2.

This report presents the synthesis of NiFexO4 by co-precipitation method and its subsequent characterization by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) techniques. XRD results confirm the single cubic spinel phase formation with the average particle size of 10–15 nm. The particle size decreased with variation of iron content, while the lattice parameter increased with the increase in Fe content. By using VSM technique, a significant change in the magnetic properties was observed in NiFexO4 system. It is seen that remnant magnetization MR increased with increasing concentration up to x=2.0 and then decreases for x=2.2. It is observed that as impurity phase percentage increases, the saturated magnetization decreases. The sample with pure phase has a maximum value of magnetization. The saturated magnetization value of nano NiFe2.0O4 sample is 47.5 emu/g and this is lower than that reported for the bulk nickel ferrite (55 emu/g).