Magnetic properties of NiFe2O4 nanoparticles produced by a new chemical method

We have investigated the magnetic properties of nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) nanoparticles obtained through a new chemical route. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirms that the spinel phase is already formed at 300 degrees C. Magnetization measurements, M(T, H), have been done in order to compare the results with that found in the literature. As one can see the magnetic moment is not saturated for fields up to 20 kOe and an irreversible behavior of the high field ZFC-FC moment is also found. The effective magnetic moment per molecule evaluated from hysteresis loops at a magnetic field of 20 kOe is smaller than 2 mu(B)/molecule. ((C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.