Abstract
Nanoparticles of zincl ferrite have been synthesized by the combustion method and the effect of lithia doping on their structural. morphological and magnetic properties have been studied in detail. The samples were characterized by IR, XRD, SEM, TEM and VEM. The powder XRD patterns confirm the single phase spinel structure for the synthesized materials. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed spherical Zn-ferrite particles with a narrow size distribution. 0.69 wt% Li2O-doping results in a decrease of the magnetization and increase of coercivity of the nanoparticles. This observation implies that, besides size, doping causes also significant structural rearrangements which in turn induce changes in the strength and the number of Fe3+(A)-O-Fe3+(B) superexchange interactions. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.