Electrical Properties of Nano Zinc Ferrites Prepared by Solution Combustion and Hydrothermal Methods

Abstract

Zinc Ferrite (ZF) nanopowders relatively uniform size distributions ranging from 5 to 14 nm were prepared by solution combustion and hydrothermal methods. The PXRD showed cubic phase, spinel structure, and particle size in nanoscale. The SEM images confirm the agglomeration of the product composed of uniform nanoparticles of flakes type and spherical type in combustion and hydrothermal methods respectively. The purity check was done by FTIR. The optical band gap energy (Eg) obtained by UV-Vis spectra of the ZF nanopowders prepared by solution combustion and hydrothermal methods were found to be 1.985 eV and 1.99 eV respectively. The present study clearly shows that the distribution of the cations within the spinel lattice of the ferrite nanoparticles are strongly affected by the synthesis method used. Results suggest that the electrical properties depend on the particular method of preparation and sintering temperature of the prepared samples. The resistivity of the samples increased to the order of 103 by sintering the samples. It is observed that the activation energy (Ea) decreases with increasing the sintering temperature.