Synthesis of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles with different morphologies via thermal decomposition approach and studies on their magnetic properties

In the present study, zinc ferrite nanoparticles with various morphologies were synthesized by thermal decomposition of Zn-Fe glycolates (precursors) prepared under different synthetic conditions. The ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles and Zn-Fe glycolates were characterized using different analytical techniques like P-XRD, FT-IR, TGA, FE-SEM, TEM, EDXA, DRS and XPS. Rietveld refinement method was used to understand the distribution of Zn2+ and Fe3+ in tetrahedral and octahedral sites of zinc ferrite. The magnetic properties (saturation magnetization, remanence and coercivity) of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles were investigated at 300 K and 15 K. The ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles exhibit superparamagnetic behavior at 300 K and soft ferromagnetic behavior at 15 K.

Automated summary

In this study, zinc ferrite nanoparticles with various morphologies were synthesized by thermal decomposition of Zn-Fe glycolates prepared under different synthetic conditions. The nanoparticles were characterized using different analytical techniques and their magnetic properties were investigated.