Investigation of structural, magnetic and morphological properties of Zinc and Cobalt-doped Nickel Ferrites

Abstract Nickel Ferrite nanocrystalline material doped with transition metal ions (Zn 2+ , Co 2+ ) was obtained by chemical combustion method using respective nitrate hexahydrates and glycine as fuel. The phase purity of the prepared ceramic samples was ascertained using Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) exhibiting an inverse cubic spinel structure with space group Fd <m:math xmlns:m="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <m:mover> <m:mn mathvariant="normal">3</m:mn> <m:mo>‾</m:mo> </m:mover> </m:math> $\overline{\mathrm{3}}$ m . Lattice parameters follow the Vegard law, indicating a consistent lattice expansion. The formation of porous nanocrystalline ferrite was confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images and corroborated by Williamson-Hall analysis. Raman Spectroscopic analysis identified characteristic bands corresponding to vibrational modes of nickel ferrite (NiFe 2 O 4 ) and revealed shifts in the peak position with doping by zinc (Zn) and cobalt (Co). Vibrating Sample magnetometry (VSM) analysis indicated varied magnetic behaviour with different dopants and concentrations highlighting the influence of cation substitution on magnetic properties. The specific saturation magnetization ( M s ), remanent magnetization ( M r ) and coercivity ( H c ) are improved by the substitution of Zn 2+ and Co 2+ ions. This simple and cost-effective preparation technique holds promise for synthesizing high-quality nickel ferrite, which could find applications in magnetic and electronic devices.