A simple route to synthesize nanocrystalline nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) in the presence of octanoic acid as a surfactant

Nanocrystalline nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) powder was prepared by a co-precipitation method from Ni and Fe chlorides. The as-prepared samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). SEM and TEM indicated that the particles were spherical with particle sizes in the range 25 ± 5 nm. The magnetic properties of the sample were measured by using a vibrating sample magnetometer, which showed that the sample exhibited typical ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature, while a finite coercivity of 245.5 Oe was present at 300 K. The saturation magnetization of the sample (23.13 emu/g) was significantly lower than that for the reported multidomain bulk particles (55 emu/g), reflecting the ultrafine nature of the sample.