Comparative analysis of the structural properties of Cr-Zn and Cr-Co nanoferrites

Abstract

The series of Cr-Zn and Cr-Co nanoferrites bearing the general chemical composition CrxZnFe2−xO4 and CrxCoFe2−xO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) were successfully synthesized by sol–gel method. The prepared samples were annealed at 900 °C temperature for 3 hours. The aim of the present comparative analysis was to investigate the impact of Cr3+ ion substitution on the structural properties of Zn and Co- nanoferrite systems. Various characterization techniques such as XRD, FTIR, TEM, etc. were used to investigate the structural properties of both nanoferrite samples. XRD patterns of the both ferrite samples provide information about the existence of single phase spinel structure. The average crystallite size was found to be ranging from 24–34 nm and 56-75nm in case of Cr-Zn and Cr-Co ferrite systems respectively. The analysis revealed that with the increase in Cr- concentration (x), the average crystallite size decreased gradually in Cr- Zn ferrite system but decreased non-linearly in Cr-Co ferrite system. FTIR spectra show that the bands υ1 and υ2 are found to shift towards the higher frequency side with substitution of Cr3+ ions. TEM reports demonstrated that the particles with narrow size distribution were procured. The analysis revealed that the amount of Cr concentration (x) significantly influenced the crystal morphology and the structural properties of both Cr-Zn and Cr-Co nanoferrites systems.