Nonstoichiometry and phase stability of Al and Cr substituted Mg ferrite nanoparticles synthesized by citrate method

The spinel ferrite Mg0.7Cr0.3Fe2O4, and Mg0.7Al0.3Fe2O4 were prepared by the citrate technique. All samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Micrographs (HRTEM), Energy Dispersive X ray Spectroscopy (EDAX) and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). XRD confirmed the formation of cubic spinel structure of the investigated samples. The average crystallite sizes were found to be between 24.7 and 27.5 nm for Al3+ and Mg2+ respectively. The substitution of Cr3+/Al3+ in place of Mg2+ ion initiates a crystalline anisotropy due to large size mismatch between Cr /Al and Mg2+, which creates strain inside the crystal volume. According to VSM results, by adding Al3+ or Cr3+ ions at the expense of Mg2+, the saturation magnetization increased. The narrow hysteresis loop of the samples indicates that the amount of dissipated energy is small, which is desirable for soft magnetic applications. Magnetic dynamics of the samples were studied by measuring magnetic susceptibility versus temperature at different magnetic fields. The band gap energy, which was calculated from near infrared (NIR) and visible (VIS) reflectance spectra using the Kubelka-Munk function, decreases with increasing the particle size. Furthermore, the band gaps were quite narrow (1.5-1.7 eV), hence the investigated samples could act as visible light driven photo catalysts. To sum up the addition of trivalent Al3+, and Cr3+ ions enhanced the optical, magnetic and structure properties of the samples. Mg0.7Cr0.3Fe2O4 sample will be a better candidate for the optical applications and will also be a guaranteeing hopeful for technological applications.