Abstract
We report a simple, eco-friendly facile wet chemical nitrate precursor route for the synthesis of pristine and nickel-containing nanocrystalline (∼44 nm) α-Fe2O3. Thermal analysis of the dried (∼70 °C) presumed oxalate powder, Fe2(C2O4)3 · 4H2O (also confirmed by X-ray diffraction), revealed two-step formation of the oxide; slower reaction as Fe2(C2O4)3 · 4H2O↓ → 4H2O↑ + 2CO2↑ + 2FeC2O4↓ and faster as 2FeC2O4 → Fe2O3↓ + CO2↑ + 3CO↑. The incorporation of nickel resulted in progressive increase of cell parameters and exhibited decrease in estimated direct and indirect band gap values. The direct band gap values were in close correlation with emission transitions. The direct nature and narrowing of band gap with nickel addition ensures the higher absorbance values and wider spectrum of absorbance; indicating the enhanced semiconducting properties for applications such as solar cells, photocatalytic activity, etc. Regarding magnetic properties, the saturation magnetization increased progressively with nickel content while coercivity reduced up to 2 wt% of Ni content and increased afterward. The resistivity values with nickel incorporation decreased, when substituted at Fe3+ sites.
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