Synthesis of NiCuZn-ferrite powders by means of mechanochemical treatment

NiCuZn-ferrite powders were synthesized by mechanochemical treatments using NiCO3⋅2Ni(OH)2⋅4H2O, CuO, ZnO and Fe2O3 as raw materials. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) were employed to evaluate the morphologies and structures of samples. The results indicated that the mechanochemical treatment produced several structural and chemical effects on reactants of the powder mixtures, and single phase Ni0.45Cu0.05Zn0.5Fe2O4 could be obtained after annealed at 700 °C for 2 h. In comparison with the traditional firing method, the mechanochemical method benefited achieving the lower Ms and μi, which indicated that the sample had better magnetic properties.