Preparation and magnetic properties of ZnFe2O4 nanofibers by coprecipitation-air oxidation method

Abstracts: ZnFe2O4 nanofibers have been reproducibly synthesized by the thermal treatment of the fiber-like precursor that was fabricated by the oxidation of a coprecipitation product obtained by Zn2+ and Fe2+ in a NaOH solution. The phase, morphology, and particle diameter were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The magnetic properties of the samples were studied using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). It indicated that the diameters of obtained ZnFe2O4 nanofibers were found to range between 10 and 15 nm; the length ranged between 2 and 3 μm. With the increase in the calcination temperature, the length of ZnFe2O4 nanofibers reduced and the diameter increased appreciably; the coercivity of the ZnFe2O4 samples reduced and the saturation magnetization increased. When the calcination temperature was 600 deg. C, the coercivity, saturation magnetization and remanent magnetization of the samples were 93.1 Oe, 23.5 emu g-1 and 4.3 emu g-1, respectively, evidently far higher than those of the spherical ZnFe2O4.