Synthesis of Pure and Manganese-, Nickel-, and Zinc-Doped Ferrite Particles in Water-in-Oil Microemulsions

In recent years, the materials research focuses toward synthesis of finer and finer microstructural features. The unique properties of nanosized particles outweigh their higher production costs. Precipitation in microemulsion is one technique, which promises to produce small particles of controlled size and morphology at reasonable cost. The present study demonstrates the synthesis of nanocrystalline α‐Fe2O3(hematite), Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4, and Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 particles in a reverse micellar microemulsion system [water–iso‐octane–AOT (sodium di‐2ethylhexylsulfosuccinate)]. The synthesis of α‐Fe2O3 is performed to obtain baseline data for the synthesis of Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 and Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 in the microemulsion system. Nanosized, spherical α‐Fe2O3, Ni‐Zn ferrite, and Mn‐Zn ferrite particles (20–80 nm) with very narrow particle size distribution are synthesized. Crystallization of the particles is obtained at temperatures as low as 300°C.