Abstract :
Hydrothermal process was successfully used to synthesize NiFe2O4 powder using ferric chloride (FeCl3) and nickel chloride (NiCl2·4H2O) as starting materials by carefully controlling the reaction conditions. The as-prepared NiFe2O4 sample was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Mossbauer spectra and its magnetic properties were evaluated on a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The nanoscale (25 nm) NiFe2O4 powder obtained at 140 °C for 12 h possessed a saturation magnetization of 53.6 emu/g, close to that of the correspondent bulk materials. It is suggested that the well-crystallized NiFe2O4 particles formed under appropriate hydrothermal conditions should be responsible for the increased saturation magnetization in nanosized NiFe2O4.
