Effects of sintering atmosphere and temperature on structural and magnetic properties of Ni-Cu-Zn ferrite nano-particles: Magnetic enhancement by a reducing atmosphere

In this work, effects of sintering atmosphere and temperature on structural and magnetic properties of Ni0.3Cu0.2Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles prepared by citrate precursor method have been studied. The structural characterization of the samples by X-ray powder diffraction and FT-IR spectroscopy is evidence for formation of a cubic structure with no presence of impurity phase. Calculated values of crystallite size and unit cell parameter show an increase with sintering temperature under different atmospheres. Variation of saturation magnetization with sintering temperature and atmosphere can be attributed to change of three factors: magnetic core size, inversion parameter and the change of Fe3+-ion concentration due to the presence of Fe4+ and Fe2+ ions. The saturation magnetization gradually grows with sintering temperature due to increase of magnetic core size and a maximum 63 emu/g was achieved at 600 °C under carbon monoxide-ambient atmosphere.