Enhanced Magnetic Behavior of Chemically Prepared Multiferroic Nanoparticles of GaFeO3 in (GaFeO3)0.50 (Ni0.4Zn0.4Cu0.2 Fe2O4)0.5 Nanocomposite

Abstract

Nanoparticles of GaFeO3 (GFO) and Ni0.4Zn0.4Cu0.2 Fe2O4 (NZCF) and their nanocomposite [(GaFeO3)0.50 (Ni0.4Zn0.4Cu0.2Fe2O4)0.50, GFONZCF] were prepared by chemical route. Nanoparticles of GFO were synthesized by sol–gel route, and those of NZCF were prepared by chemical coprecipitation method. The nanoparticles of GFO were incorporated in the matrix of NZCF by coprecipitating the salts required for NZCF in the presence of GFO particles, followed by subsequent washing and heat treatment at 500 °C. X-ray diffractograms (XRDs) were recorded to confirm the formation of the desired crystallographic phases of the samples. The sizes of the nanoparticles were estimated from the broadening of the well-defined peaks using the Debye–Scherrer equation. The nanoparticle size and its distribution, crystallographic phase, nanocrystallinity, and so on were studied by a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), and the extracted results were in good agreement with those obtained from the XRD patterns. The ...