Nanocrystalline
metal
ferrites (MFe
2
O
4
, M
= Co, Ni, Cu, Mg, and Zn) were successfully synthesized via autocombustion
synthesis using egg white. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements revealed
the crystallization of the entire ferrites either in the tetragonal
structure, such as in the case of CuFe
2
O
4
, or
cubic spinels such as in other studied ferrites. The Fourier transform
infrared spectral study revealed the characteristic vibration bands
of ferrites. Compared to other synthesis methods, the observed variation
in the obtained structural parameters could be due to the different
cation distribution of the prepared ferrites. In agreement with XRD
measurements, the transmission electron microscopy images showed agglomerated
particles with cubic morphology for all ferrites. On the other hand,
CuFe
2
O
4
showed tetragonal morphology. The magnetization
values were found to vary with the type of the metal ion, and CoFe
2
O
4
showed the highest one (42.8 emu/g). Generally,
the lower magnetization values obtained than those reported in the
literature for all studied ferrites could be attributed to the smaller
particle sizes or the cation redistribution. The obtained coercivity
values are observed to be higher than their related values in the
literature, exhibiting the impact of the present synthesis route.
Ac-conductivity as a function of temperature and frequency indicated
semiconducting properties with the observed change in the conduction
mechanism by increasing the temperature. The obtained low dielectric
constant values could suggest using the entire ferrites in high-frequency
applications such as microwave devices.