Effects of Ni2+ Ions on Structural, Morphological and Magnetic Properties of NixCo1-xFe2O4 (x = 0.0, 0.3, and 0.5) Nanoparticles

Abstract

Spinel NixCo1-xFe2O4 (x = 0.0, 0.3 and 0.5) nanoparticles (NPs) have been investigated through structural, morphological and magnetic measurements using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction pattern (SAED) analyses. Powder XRD and SAED data indicated the presence of nanocrystalline cubic spinel with single phase. The lattice parameters of the samples gradually increased with increasing Ni content and follow Vegard's law. The crystallite size (D) and X-ray density of NixCo1-xFe2O4 samples decreased with increasing Ni content. The spherical shape morphology of spinel NixCo1-xFe2O4 ferrite particles and grain size (26.45, 24.36 and 22.65 nm for x = 0.0, 0.3 and 0. 5, respectively) was established by TEM. VSM analysis showed the typical magnetic properties of NixCo1-xFe2O4 spinels. The shape of the magnetic hysteresis (M-H) loops revealed the dependence of superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature (RT).