Tailoring the Structural, Optical and Magnetic Properties of NiFe2O4 by Varying Annealing Temperature

Magnetic nanocrystalline NiFe2O4 nanoparticles of size ranging between 13 and 19 nm were synthesized by the hydrothermal method using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as surfactant. The role of annealing on phase, crystallite size, and morphology was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was used for qualitative analysis. X-ray diffraction confirmed the single phase of as-obtained particles. TEM revealed a spherical morphology having an average particle size of 13.73 nm at 523 K and rises to 14.89, 16.42, and 21.14 nm at 623, 723, and 823 K respectively, which is approximately the same as the crystallite size determined from XRD. EDX results confirmed that elemental ratios were in stoichiometry. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectral analysis demonstrates the formation of M-O bond in NiFe2O4 nanoparticles. The optical spectra obtained from UV-visible spectroscopy revealed that nanoparticles have direct allowed energy band gap of 2.34, 2.47, 2.70, and 2.20 eV at 523, 623, 723, and 823 K respectively. A vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) was used at room temperature for magnetic measurements which further showed ferromagnetic behavior of as-synthesized material. In addition, it was found that saturation magnetization increases with an increase of annealing temperature while coercivity decreases with temperature.