Structural, optical, magnetic properties and energy-band structure of MFe2O4 (M = Co, Fe, Mn) nanoferrites prepared by co-precipitation technique

Abstract

MFe₂O₄ (M = Co, Fe, Mn) nanoparticles were successfully formed through the chemical co-precipitation technique. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis were used to investigate samples' structural properties. The investigated structural properties included phases formed, crystallite size, cation distribution, hopping length, bond length, bond angle, edge length, and shared and unshared octahedral edge length. Scanning electron micrographs of the prepared samples demonstrated well-defined crystalline nanoparticles. The grain diameter was 15, 9, and 34 nm for CoFe₂O₄, Fe₃O₄, and MnFe₂O₄, respectively. The energy-dispersive X-ray analysis confirmed the existence of every element (Co, Fe, and O) and no discernible impurities in the samples. The optical properties were studied in detail through photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The presence of active modes in Raman spectra confirmed the spinel structure of the MFe₂O₄ nanoparticles. The direct bandgap energy estimated through UV-visible spectroscopy was about 2.59–2.64 eV, corresponding with the energy-band structures of the octahedral site (1.70 eV) and the tetrahedral site (0.9 eV). This result was further confirmed by PL emission spectra. Based on Mie theory and UV-visible and PL spectral data, the mechanism of photothermal characterization for MFe₂O₄ nanoparticles was determined. Investigating the changes in temperature of magnetic parameters including coercivity, squareness ratio, and saturation magnetization for MFe₂O₄ samples showed the dominant influence of ion distribution and A–A, A–B, and B–B exchange interactions. This study also showed that strong anisotropy and weak dipolar interaction tended to increase the coercivity and squareness ratio of CoFe₂O₄. Conversely, weaker anisotropy and stronger dipolar interaction corresponded with the small coercivity and squareness ratio of Fe₃O₄ and MnFe₂O₄ samples.