Investigation of Cation Distribution and Microstructure of Nano Ferrites Prepared by Different Wet Methods

Nanostructure ferrite of composition Ni0.5Zn0.5Cr0.1Fe1.9O4 was prepared by sol-gel, co-precipitation, citrate-gel, flash and oxalate precursor methods. Structural and micro structural analysis of the investigated samples were carried out by X-rays diffractometer (XRD), infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscope. It was observed that the lattice parameter of cubic spinel was constant, and the positions of both tetrahedral and the octahedral bands had the fixed positions for all methods except flash and oxalate precursor methods. These results were explained on the basis of theoretical calculation of cation distribution for Ni-Zn-Cr ferrite. The average crystalline sizes of the investigated samples deduced by TEM were in good agreement with the one estimated by XRD. The above results were correlated to the results of magnetic measurements of the investigated samples.