Synthesis and characterization of nickel substituted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles by sol-gel auto-combustion method

Nanocrystalline Co1-xNixFe2O4 (where x = 0.0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1) were successfully synthesized by sol-gel method using citrate-nitrate precursors. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were effectively utilized to investigate the different structural parameters. XRD showed single cubic spinel phase for all the samples. The decrease in lattice parameter and increase in crystallite size of the ferrispinel was observed with increasing nickel content. The surface morphology and elemental composition were studied by Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) respectively. The nanosize of the synthesized material had been identified by TEM investigation and which is lies in between 20-25 nm. The semiconducting nature of the samples was studied by variation of resistivity and thermal emf with temperature. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.