Fabrication and magnetic properties of electrospun Ni1−xCuxFe2O4 nanofibers

Abstract

Nickel copper ferrite Ni1−xCuxFe2O4 (x=0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5) nanofibers were successfully fabricated by electrospinning technique. The obtained nanofibers were calcined at a temperature of 600°C, with a heating and cooling rate of 1°C/min for 3h. Samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The diameters of the as-spun nanofibers as shown by SEM images are in the range of 360.95±20–511.79±25nm and reduced to 73.60±15–87.52±18nm after calcination. All calcined samples have a spinel ferrite structure as revealed by XRD and TEM. Crystallite size were calculated from the XRD peaks using Scherrer’s equation and found to increase from 18.46 to 30.78nm with increasing Cu content. XANES results confirm the substitution of Cu cations on both of the octahedral and tetrahedral sites. The magnetization measurements reveal that the Ni1−xCuxFe2O4 nanofibers exhibit soft ferromagnetic behavior with decreasing magnetization from 37.71 to 15.10emu/g and increasing coercivity from 50.90 to 144.66 Oe as the Cu content is increased.