Ceramics International

Volume 51, Issue 2, January 2025, Pages 1732-1742

Microstructural, magnetic, and optical properties

of nickel-doped spinel zinc ferrite nanoparticles
Asghari Maqsood , Attiq Ur Rehman, Aamir Mahmood

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2024.11.149
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Abstract

This study focuses on the synthesis of nickel-substituted zinc ferrite nanoparticles, ,

via the sol-gel method and examines how nickel substitution influences their structural, magnetic,
and optical properties. The lattice constant of the nanoparticles, which varied from 8.4296 Å to
8.4212 Å, decreased as the nickel concentration increased. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was
employed to examine the morphology, revealing grain sizes between 46 and 53 nm, while energy
dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) confirmed the elemental composition, showing nearly spherical
nanoparticles containing all the constituent elements. The magnetic properties were analyzed using a
vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), which highlighted significant differences between the
theoretical and experimental magnetic moments, indicating the presence of Yafet-Kittel magnetic
ordering in the system. The saturation magnetization was enhanced by ions, reaching a
maximum value of 23.864 emu/g. This enhancement makes the nickel-substituted zinc ferrite
nanoparticles suitable for applications in data recording media and magnetic resonance imaging.
Additionally, the values of the magnetic crystalline anisotropy constant, initial permeability, effective
anisotropy constant, and anisotropic field of the synthesized samples were estimated.

The optical properties of the synthesized samples were evaluated using UV–visible spectroscopy, and
the band gap was determined through diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The optical bandgap of
pure zinc ferrite was measured to be 2.26 eV, and it decreased with increasing nickel concentration in
the nanoparticles.
Introduction

Ferrites are widely recognized materials that have been extensively used in the electronics industry.
Notable advancements in ferrite technology have resulted in significant progress in both their
applications and fabrication techniques. Nanostructured ferrites have attracted significant attention
due to their unique physical, magnetic, or chemical properties, distinguishing them from other types
of ferrite materials. Since spinel ferrites are characterized by the common formula , where A
represents divalent cations such as , , , , and , exhibit a wide range of
optical, electrical, and magnetic properties. Consequently, their various applications are found in
diverse areas, including magnetic resonance imaging, recording magnetic media, ferrofluids, and as a
catalyst [[1], [2], [3]]. Zinc ferrite has emerged as a frequently utilized ferrite due to its exceptional
functional characteristics encompassing magnetic, electrical, thermal, and chemical capabilities, as
well as chemical stability. As a normal spinel ferrite, zinc ferrite features carries tetrahedral A-
sites whereas positioned at octahedral B-sites. Its versatile properties have led to its deployment
in countless fields including gas sensors, magnetic devices, catalysts, absorbent materials, and data
storage devices [4,5].

Nickel-substituted zinc ferrite is a widely recognized material known for its exceptional
electromagnetic properties, making it suitable for various high-frequency devices such as biosensors,
pigments, drug delivery platforms, and catalysts. As physical and chemical properties of nickel-
substituted zinc ferrite nanoparticles depend on the synthesis and doping techniques employed.
Different methods, including ball milling, co-precipitation, electrodeposition, and sol-gel auto
combustion are being utilized for the fabrication of these nanoparticles [6,7]. Nickel substitution in
the lattice structure can have a significant impact on the structural, morphological, magnetic, and
optical properties of the nanoparticles. A previous study has demonstrated that nickel substitution can
enhance the magnetic features of nanoparticles. For instance, Lima et al. synthesized Ni-Zn ferrite
nanoparticles with the citrate precursor method whereas the product produced could be used in
radar-absorbing materials due to its strong magnetic properties, Elevated cation mobility, and Stability
under heat [8]. Srinivasan et al. prepared Nickel zinc ferrite nanoparticles with hydrazine precursors,
the finalized product was used to investigate their magnetic properties for various applications [9].
Hossain et al. prepared (where x = 0.2, 0.4) by sintering at different temperatures,
studying the resulting material's structural, electrical, and magnetic properties [10]. Zahi et al.
produced Ni-Zn ferrite nanoparticles using two methods: the sol-gel method and solid-state reaction,
utilizing different primary materials for each approach [11]. Kuru et al. explored various effects of
copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) doping in the behavior of zinc (Zn) ferrite. They examined the structural
modifications through X-ray diffraction and discovered that lattice parameters decrease with the
addition of dopants [12,13]. Additionally, they analyze the optical and dielectric properties, revealing
that Cu and Ni doping influences the optical bandgap and dielectric constant of the ferrite material
[[14], [15], [16]].
In this study, we examined the influence of nickel substitution on zinc ferrite nanoparticles
synthesized using the sol-gel method. We employed several characterization techniques, including
SEM, EDX, VSM, and UV–visible spectroscopy, to assess their structural, magnetic, and optical
properties. Our results demonstrate that nickel doping significantly enhances the magnetic properties
and lowers the bandgap of these materials, thereby opening up promising applications across various
technologies, including data storage, catalysis, and drug delivery [[17], [18], [19]].

The novelty of the work in this paper lies in the focus given to systematically studying nickel
substitution effects on structural and functional properties of zinc ferrite nanoparticles. It is further
elicited by positive impacts like reduction of the lattice constant and a tunable bandgap, as supported
using UV–visible spectroscopy. Such impacts explain how to tailor nanoparticles toward specific
applications in light and magnetic devices [[20], [21], [22]]. In addition, the method used here
hydrolysis-gelation is much simpler than many others, more cost-effective, and allows much better
control of particle size and composition than many wet chemical synthesis methods, thus even
making it potentially scalable. Easy tuning of nickel substitution to adjust the bandgap enlarges the
spectrum of further potential applications in photovoltaic, magnetic resonance imaging, and
nanomedical fields [[23], [24], [25]].

Thus, the study discovers new directions for the optimization of materials and their practical use in
promising technological applications by extending knowledge on nickel-substituted zinc ferrite
nanoparticles.

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Section snippets

Experimental technique

In this study, zinc ferrite nanoparticles substituted with pure nickel ( ) and various
concentrations, where x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.10, and 0.20 were synthesized using the sol-gel technique. This
synthesis process involves the mixing of , , ,
(Citric acid), and in specific molar ratios. The ratio of metal nitrates to citric
acid was maintained at 1:1, and the mixture was dissolved in double-distilled water. was
added dropwise …

Powder XRD analysis

The structure and purity of nickel-substituted zinc ferrite nanoparticles ( for x = 0.00,
0.05, 0.1, and 0.20) samples were evaluated by Cu-Kα radiations (λ = 1.5406 Å). The observed major
peaks followed the standard patterns of zinc ferrite in JCPDS file 01-077-0011, which confirmed that
nanoparticles were of a single-phase nanostructure [25]. The (311) peaks shifted slightly towards
higher 2θ values as the nickel concentration for zinc ferrite nanoparticles increased. This shift …

Conclusion

Single phase of nanoparticles are obtained successfully using the Sol-gel method.
The lattice constants decreased with the increase of nickel substitution in these samples.

The observed phenomenon is attributed to smaller ionic radii of as compared to .

Additionally, the crystallite size decreased with higher Nickel concentrations, likely due to the
redistribution of and within the A-sites and B-sites of the crystal lattice. SEM images
reveal that the prepared …

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Asghari Maqsood: Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Supervision, Resources, Methodology,
Funding acquisition, Formal analysis, Conceptualization. Attiq Ur Rehman: Writing – original draft,
Software, Formal analysis, Data curation. Aamir Mahmood: Software, Formal analysis. …

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships
that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. …

Acknowledgments
This research is financially supported by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS). Syed Ikram Naqvi is
acknowledged for checking references and critical reading. …

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