Sol-gel synthesis and characterization of selected transition metal nano-ferrites

Abstract

In the present work, the sinterability and formation of nanosized yttrium iron garnet (Y 3Fe 5O 12), yttrium perovskite ferrite (YFeO 3), cobalt, nickel and zinc iron spinel (CoFe 2O 4, NiFe 2O 4 and ZnFe 2O 4, respectively) powders by an aqueous sol-gel processes are investigated. The metal ions, generated by dissolving starting materials of transition metals in the diluted acetic acid were complexed by 1,2-ethanediol to obtain the precursors for the transition metal ferrite ceramics. The phase purity of synthesized nano-compounds was characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR) and powder X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The microstructural evolution and morphological features of obtained transition metal ferrites were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).