Structural and mechanical properties of AFe2O4 (A = Zn, Cu0.5Zn0.5, Ni0.3Cu0.2Zn0.5) nanoparticles prepared by citrate method at low temperature

In this work, the structural and elastic moduli properties of ZnFe2O4, Zn0.5Cu0.5Fe2O4, and Ni0. 3Cu0.2Zn0.5Fe2O4 ferrites prepared by the citrate method have been investigated. The structural characterization of the samples is evidence for a cubic structure with Fd-3m space group. The Halder-Wagner analysis was used to study crystallite sizes and lattice strain and also stress and energy density. The cation distribution for each composition has been suggested. The experimental and theoretical lattice constants were found to be in good agreement with each other confirming the agreeability of the suggested cation distribution. The force constants for tetrahedral and octahedral sites have been determined by infrared spectral analysis. The increase in force constants of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles compared to other samples suggests the elastic properties of this sample is better than the other samples. The values of Young’s modulus, rigidity modulus, bulk modulus, Debye temperature have been determined. In addition, using the values of the compliance sij obtained from elastic stiffness constants, the values of Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio along the oriented direction have been calculated for the samples. Consequently, we can conclude the ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles could be more useful in industrial applications because of their elastic properties compared to other samples.