Magnetic properties of samarium and gadolinium co-doping Mn-Zn ferrites obtained by sol-gel auto-combustion method

Mn-Zn ferrites doped with different contents of Sm^（3＋） and Gd^（3＋） ions were prepared by sol-gel auto-combustion method and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（FTIR）, thermogravimetric analysis（TG）, X-ray diffraction（XRD）, scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and vibrating sample magnetometer（VSM）. When samples were calcined in a relatively low temperature below 1100 °C, secondary phases（α-Fe_2O_3） could be identified. Therefore, in order to acquire pure and better crystallinity, the suitable calcining temperature of powders was selected at 1200 °C. It was also found that all the samples consisting of ferrite phases of typical spinel cubic structure and average crystallite sizes between 31.5 and 38.2 nm were obtained after calcining at 1200 oC for 4 h. The lattice parameters increased almost linearly with increasing Sm content. A dense microstructure was obtained after sintering at 1250 °C for 4 h. Through the analysis of magnetic properties, hysteresis loops for all the samples were narrow with low values of coercivity and retentivity, indicating the paramagnetic nature of these samples. And saturation magnetization Ms strongly depended on the type of additive to reach a maximum of 47.99 emu/g for x=0.015, which showed a great promise for hyperthermia applications.

Hydrothermal synthesis of Mn-Zn ferrites from spent alkaline Zn-Mn batteries

Nanocrystalline Mn-Zn ferrites （Mno.GZno.4Fe204） with particle size of 12 nm were synthesized hydrotherreally using spent alkaline Zn-Mn batteries, and accompanied by a study of the influencing factors. The nanocrystals were examined by powder X-ray diffraction （XRD） for crystalline phase identification, and scanning electron microscopy （SEM） for grain morphology. The relationship between concentration of Fe（II）, Mn（II）, and Zn（II） and pH value was obtained through thermodynamic analysis of the Fe（II）-Mn（II）-Zn（II）-NaOH-H2O system. The results showed that all ions were precipitated completely at a pH value of 10-11. The optimal preparation conditions are： co-precipitation pH of 10.5, temperature of 200 ℃ and time of 9 h.

Influence of intrinsic parameters on the particle size of magnetic spinel nanoparticles synthesized by wet chemical methods

The synthesis of magnetic spinel ferrites at the nanoscale is a field of intense study, because the meso- scopic properties enable their novel applications. Spinel nanoparticles have a promising role because of their extraordinary properties compared with those of micro and macro scale particles. Several colloidal chemical synthetic procedures have been developed to produce monodisperse nanoparticles of spinel let- rites and other materials using sol-gel, co-precipitation, hydrothermal, and microemulsion techniques. To improve the synthesis method and conditions, quality and productivity of these nanoparticles, understanding the effect of extrinsic （pH, temperature, and molecular concentration） and intrinsic parameters （site preferences, latent heat, lattice parameters, electronic configuration, and bonding energy） on the particle size during synthesis is crucial. In this review, we discuss the effect of the intrinsic parameters on particle size of spinel ferrites to provide an insight to control their particle size more precisely.