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Evaluation of structural, magnetic, optical, electrical, and humidity sensing properties of manganese-substituted zinc ferrite nanoparticles

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Abstract

Manganese–zinc ferrite nanoparticles with composition MnyZn1-yFe2O4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) were synthesized using the coprecipitation technique. The formation of cubic spinel structures with average crystallite sizes less than 16 nm is confirmed by X-ray diffraction. On replacing Zn2+ ions with Mn2+ ions, compressive lattice strain is produced which lowers the lattice parameter. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrates superior thermal stability of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles. The superparamagnetic nature of Mn-Zn ferrites was revealed by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The specific magnetization lies between 14.6 and 21.7 emug−1. The optical bandgap energy ranges from 2.34 to 2.84 eV. With increasing Mn2+ ions, the dc electrical resistivity shows a preliminary increase followed by a steady decline. The exposure of ferrite pellets to humidity facilitates the conduction mechanism. Resistivity significantly decreases with increasing relative humidity. Among Mn-Zn ferrites, ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles possess superior humidity sensing properties.

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  1. Department of Physics, SRM University, Delhi NCR, Sonepat, 131029, India

    Nitika & Anu Rana

  2. Department of Physics, NSUT, Dwarka, New Delhi, 110078, India

    Vinod Kumar

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  1. Nitika
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  2. Anu Rana
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Anu Rana contributed to supervision, software, validation, writing-reviewing, and editing; Nitika contributed to data curation, writing-original draft preparation, investigation, formal analysis; Vinod Kumar contributed to conceptualization, methodology, visualization, resources.

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Nitika, Rana, A. & Kumar, V. Evaluation of structural, magnetic, optical, electrical, and humidity sensing properties of manganese-substituted zinc ferrite nanoparticles. Appl. Phys. A 127, 860 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-021-05016-4

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