Chemical Synthesis of Nano-Crystalline Nickel-Zinc Ferrite as a Magnetic ‎Pigment

T he nano-crystalline nickel-zinc ‎ferrite was prepared via chemical ‎synthesis. Zinc nitrate, nickel ‎nitrate, iron nitrate hydrate, citric ‎acid and ethylene glycol were used ‎as precursor materials. ‎Crystallization behavior of the ‎precursor was studied by X-ray ‎diffraction (XRD). Nanoparticle ‎phases can change amorphous to ‎spinel ferrite depending on the ‎calcination temperature and ‎crystallite size calculated by ‎Scherrer’s formula about 26-105 ‎nm with the calcinations ‎temperature. Morphological and ‎structural properties were ‎investigated by scanning electron ‎microscopy (SEM).The powder ‎density was measured using a ‎helium pycnometer. Magnetization ‎measurements were carried out on ‎an alternative gradient force ‎magnetometer (AGFM), which ‎revealed saturation magnetization ‎of the samples were strongly ‎dependent on the calcination ‎temperature and particle size of ‎the sample and the saturation ‎magnetization values of the ‎samples increased as a function of ‎the calcination temperature. ‎Colorimetric analysis was ‎measured by using UV-visible ‎spectroscopy in the range of 300-‎‎700 nm. These result indicated a ‎correlation between pigment color ‎and calcinations temperature. The ‎color of the pigment ranges from ‎reddish brown to deep brown ‎depending on the calcination ‎temperature. Finally our results ‎showed that the chemical synthesis ‎method leads to obtain nano ‎crystalline nickel zinc ferrite with ‎good controllable stoichiometry at ‎low temperature.‎