Preparation and characterization of complex ferrite nanoparticles by a polymer-pyrolysis route

The polymer-pyrolysis route used in this work was to synthesize the copolymeric precursor of the mixed metallic ions and then to pyrolyze the precursor into complex spinel ferrite nanoparticles. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the complex ferrite nanoparticles could be obtained by calcination of their precursors at 500°C. The structures, elemental analyses and particle morphology of the as-calcined products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), ICP-AES, transmission electron microscope (TEM) and electron diffraction (ED) pattern. The results revealed that the as-calcined powders were complex spinel ferrites and the size of those nanoparticles ranged from 10 to 20 nm. Magnetic measurements were carried out at room temperature using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The saturation magnetization of the Mn–Zn ferrites was related to the molar ratio of Mn to Zn and increased with the increase of Mn. The complex Co–Mn–Zn ferrite nanoparticles showed a high magnetization of 58 emu/g at the applied field of 10 kOe and a low coercivity of 30 Oe, which indicated that this materials exhibited characteristics of soft ferromagnetism.