Structure and magnetic properties of ZnFeO nanoparticles obtained by mechanochemical synthesis

A scalable method for the synthesis of zinc ferrites ZnFeO (with a doping degree of x = 0; 0.125; 0.25; 0.5; 1) by controlled oxidation of an iron and zinc mixture during mechanochemical synthesis is proposed. Comprehensive studies of the processes occurring during mechanochemical synthesis were carried out using X-ray diffraction analysis, Mössbauer spectroscopy and measurement of magnetic properties. It was shown that zinc ions in the synthesized ferrites occupy both tetrahedral and octahedral positions, which leads to a decrease in the saturation magnetization to 44 Am/kg with an increase in the doping degree to x = 1. An increase in the doping degree leads to a monotonic decrease in the coercivity to 40.3 Oe, which can be used to obtain materials with desired properties.