The influence of the chelating/combustion agents on the structure and magnetic properties of zinc ferrite

The present study is reporting the influence of the chelating/combustion agents on the magnetic properties of Zn ferrite. Six chelating/combustion agents, citric acid, egg white, tartaric acid, glycine, glucose and urea, were used to obtain monophase zinc nanoferrite via a sol-gel auto-combustion method. The samples were subjected to a comparative study of structural features and magnetic properties by means of infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry. Significant influence of fuel and combustion mode was observed in the magnetic behavior of as-obtained samples. Values of the structural parameters were discovered to vary as a function of fuel choice, and to obtain crystallite size between 38 and 62 nm, inversion degree between 0.239 and 0.807, lattice parameter between 8.4125 and 8.4432 Å. The optimization of sol-gel method synthesis of zinc ferrite nanoparticles by chosing the appropriate fuel is providing structural and magnetic properties of zinc nanoferrite as potential materials to be used in biomedical applications.