Magnetic and thermodynamic properties of nanosized Zn ferrite with normal spinal structure synthesized using a facile method.

Normal spinel zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4) nanoparticles (NPs) with zero net magnetization were synthesized by a facile coprecipitation method in which two kinds of organic alkali, namely, 1-amino-2-propanol (MIPA) and bis(2-hydroxypropyl)-amine (DIPA), were used. The diameters of the ZnFe2O4 NPs were determined to be about 7 and 9 nm for samples prepared with MIPA and DIPA, respectively, and the normal spinel structure was confirmed by the magnetic property measurement at room temperature and the temperature dependence of the direct current magnetization. These results are different from those reported in the literature, where ZnFe2O4 NPs show a nonzero net magnetization. The heat capacity of the ZnFe2O4 NPs synthesized using DIPA was measured using a physical property measurement system in the temperature range from 2 to 300 K, and the thermodynamic functions were calculated based on the curve fitting of the experimental heat capacity data. The heat capacity of the ZnFe2O4 NPs was compared with that of a nanosized (Zn(0.795)Fe(0.205))[Zn(0.205)Fe(1.795)]O4 material studied in the literature, indicating that the Debye temperature of the present sample is more comparable with that of the bulk ZnFe2O4 reported by Westrum et al.