Influence of Zn2+ doping on the structural and surface morphological properties of nanocrystalline Ni-Cu spinel ferrite

Ni0.8-xCu0.2Zn x Fe2O4 (x = 0.0 ≤ 0.6 with steps of 0.2) ferrite nanophase was achieved by sol–gel auto-combustion technique. The as-prepared samples were thermally characterized by thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis to obtain firing temperature of the materials. The X-ray diffraction pattern indicates the formation of a single-phase cubic spinel structure and shows strong influence of the incorporation of Zn2+ metal ions on the spinel structure. The annealing treatment does not alter the crystal structure but increases the crystallinity of the samples. The morphological investigations and nanometric sizes of the samples were studied by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The crystallographic texture due to annealing and Zn2+ ion doping was systematically investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.