Ni-Cu-Zn nanoferrite prepared at lower sintering temperature

Spinel ferrite with chemical formula Ni0.7Cu0.1Zn0.2Fe2O4 was synthesized by oxalate co-precipitation technique and characterized by X-ray diffraction, Infra-red spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy techniques. X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the formation of single phase cubic spinel structure. Crystallite size of the ferrite obtained by Debye Scherrer formula is found to be about 36.55nm. Lattice constant of the ferrite is about 8.3816 Å and which is slightly higher than reported by microwave sintering technique. Absorption bands appear at 587.2 cm-1 and 402.9 cm-1 corresponding to the tetrahedral (A) and octahedral (B) sites in the IR spectra gives strong characteristic of spinel ferrite. E-DAX spectra confirm the required stoichiometric proportion of elements achieved in the ferrite. FESEM images give the information about morphology of prepared ferrite. It is observed that with co-precipitation technique and at lower sintering temperature (600 °C), we can synthesize well nano-ferrite material.