Abstract
In the last decade, research on the synthesis and characterization of nanosized ferrites has highly increased and a wide range of new applications for these materials have been identified. The ability to tailor the structure, chemical, optical, magnetic, and electrical properties of ferrites by selecting the synthesis parameters further enhanced their widespread use. The paper reviews the synthesis methods and applications of MFe2O4 (M = Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Zn) nanoparticles, with emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of each synthesis route and main applications. Along with the conventional methods like sol-gel, thermal decomposition, combustion, co-precipitation, hydrothermal, and solid-state synthesis, several unconventional methods, like sonochemical, microwave assisted combustion, spray pyrolysis, spray drying, laser pyrolysis, microemulsion, reverse micelle, and biosynthesis, are also presented. MFe2O4 (M = Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Zn) nanosized ferrites present good magnetic (high coercivity, high anisotropy, high Curie temperature, moderate saturation magnetization), electrical (high electrical resistance, low eddy current losses), mechanical (significant mechanical hardness), and chemical (chemical stability, rich redox chemistry) properties that make them suitable for potential applications in the field of magnetic and dielectric materials, photoluminescence, catalysis, photocatalysis, water decontamination, pigments, corrosion protection, sensors, antimicrobial agents, and biomedicine.
Highlights
While in the case of bulk materials, the chemical composition is the main factor that determine their properties, in the case of nanomaterials, besides the chemical composition, the particle size and morphology determine most of their characteristics [1,2]
Since the physical, chemical, magnetic, electrical, and optical properties can be tailored by the dopant type and content, we reviewed the potential applications of CoFe2 O4 and divalent transition metal-doped cobalt ferrites (Mx Co1−x Fe2 O4, M = Zn, Cu, Mn, Ni, and Cd) [47]
Nanosized ferrites can be synthesized by various techniques (Figure 2) and the possibility to obtain almost any solid solution of nanoferrites unlocks the way to tailor their properties for a wide range of applications [22]
Summary
Nanocrystalline magnetic materials have attracted considerable interest due to their uniqueness and remarkable properties in various fields including physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, materials science, and engineering. Compared to their bulk counterparts, nanomaterials have particle size in the 1–100 nm range and a high surface to volume ratio that determines different or enhanced reactivity, thermal, mechanical, optical, electrical, and magnetic properties [1]. While in the case of bulk materials, the chemical composition is the main factor that determine their properties, in the case of nanomaterials, besides the chemical composition, the particle size and morphology determine most of their characteristics [1,2]. These properties can be tunned based on the particle size and chemical composition [1,2]
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