Synthesis and characterization of manganese ferrite nanostructure by co-precipitation, sol-gel, and hydrothermal methods

In this research work, manganese ferrite nanoparticles (MnFe2O4) were synthesized by three different methods including the co-precipitation, sol-gel, and hydrothermal route. Structure, size, morphology, and magnetic properties of nanostructures were determined and compared using X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis (FESEM), and the vibration sample magnetometer (VSM). X-ray diffraction analysis from Debye–Scherrer’s formula with the (2θ = 35.08°) peak indicated that the mean size of the synthesized manganese ferrite nanocrystallites were obtained to be 36, 45, and 16 nm for co-precipitation, sol-gel, and hydrothermal, respectively. Also, the sample prepared by the hydrothermal method has the lowest crystal sizes, which it is approved by FESEM analysis. Field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis images confirmed the existence of three types of basic morphology of MnFe2O4 nanoparticles: spherical shape, multi-walled hollow nanosheets, and reticular structure. In addition, Based on VSM data magnetization saturation (Ms) was 41.89 emu/g for hydrothermal synthesized samples, 38.76 emu/g for co-precipitation samples, and 9.52 emu/g for sol-gel samples. These findings show that various methods of nanoparticle synthesis can lead to different particle sizes and magnetic properties.