Nickel Ferrite Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Characterization and Properties

In the present study, AB(2)O(4) type nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by a co-precipitation method. The crystal structure, phase purity, morphology, optical and kinetic properties of the NiFe2O NPs were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rietveld refinement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and UV-Visible spectroscopy. The XRD diffraction pattern revealed the degree of crystallinity and confirming the cubic spinel system with the space group of Fd (3) over barm:2, a typical crystal structure of nickel ferrite spinel. The SEM studies exhibited that the synthesized NiFe2O NPs had an average particle size of similar to 55 nm. Two stage decomposition pattern was observed for both as-synthesized and calcined NiFe2O NPs. The TGA was further used to analyze the Coats-Redfern and Friedman methods in order to estimate the decomposition activation energy (E-alpha) which revealed that it obeyed the F1 solid-state nucleation-growth mechanism. Finally, a schematic mechanism for preparation of the AB(2)O(4) type nickel ferrite NPs was proposed.