Electrospinning fabrication of nickel oxide fibers: Whole powder pattern modeling (WPPM) approach, morphology, optical and magnetic properties

Nickel oxide (NiO) fibers were prepared by using the electrospinning technique followed by calcining the precursor NiO/PVA fibers under air. The fibers were characterized by various analytical techniques such as SEM, FTIR, XRD, DRS, and VSM at two different calcination temperatures. The advanced X-ray diffraction approach (WPPM) was used to evaluate the microstructure parameters, including the average crystallite size, the dislocation density, and the fractions of edge/screw dislocation of the prepared samples. Also, the absorbance spectra have been explored by the diffuse reflectance spectroscopy method. The SEM images have revealed the formation of the NiO fibers with a rough surface. The worth noting feature unveiled by the magnetic measurements was the ferromagnetic nature of NiO fibers, calcined at 550 °C.