Investigation of the structural, optical and magnetic properties of nickel ferrite nanoparticles synthesized through modified sol–gel method

Abstract

Nickel ferrite nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by through modify sol–gel method with the aid of nickel (II) nitrate, iron (III) nitrate, and lactose without adding external surfactant. Moreover, lactose plays role as capping agent, reducing agent, and natural template in the synthesis of NiFe2O4 nanoparticles. The as-synthesized NiFe2O4 nanoparticles were characterized by means of several techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The magnetic properties of as-prepared NiFe2O4 nanoparticles were also investigated with vibrating sample magnetometer. To evaluate the photocatalyst properties of nanocrystalline NiFe2O4, the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange under ultraviolet light irradiation was carried out.