Magnetic properties and cation distribution of bimetallic (Mn–Co) doped NiFe2O4 nanoparticles

Abstract

Nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4), an inverse spinel crystal structure and a soft transition metal oxide, contemplated as a good magnetic semiconducting material with low coercivity and saturation magnetization (M s). In this study, Ni1−2xMnxCoxFe2O4 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) nanoparticles were synthesized by the microwave assisted approach with citric acid as fuel. The effect of both cobalt and manganese substitution on the morphological, structural, and magnetic properties of the NiFe2O4 nanoparticles were studied. X-ray powder diffraction patterns confirm their complete conversion to NiFe2O4 crystal phase and the increase in lattice constant provides evidence for the effect of both Co and Mn substitution. SEM images divulge the nano-size of the prepared products with speck morphology. Magnetic properties of the final products were evaluated using Vibrating Sample Magnetometer and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The results from both analyses suggested the M s and coercive field of NiFe2O4 NPs increases as the concentration of Co and Mn increase and Ms getting closer to the bulk value.