Controllable synthesis of CuFe2O4 nanostructures through simple hydrothermal method in the presence of thioglycolic acid

doi:10.1016/j.physe.2016.05.037

Physica E: Low-dimensional Systems and Nanostructures

Volume 84, October 2016, Pages 258-262

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physe.2016.05.037 Get rights and content

Highlights

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A novel synthesis method is presented for CuFe₂O_4.
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Nanomaterial with controlled crystallite size.
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Only fuels with different morphologies formation.

Abstract

In this paper a novel and simple route for the preparation of copper ferrite (CuFe₂O₄) is proposed. The present investigation reports, the novel synthesis of CuFe₂O₄ samples C1, C2, C3 and C4 using hydrothermal method and its physicochemical characterization. In order to elucidate the relationship between the constituent, structure, magnetic and PL properties product's particle size, morphological and structural properties were characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence (PL) and magnetic properties. The crystallization, surface morphology, magnetic properties and luminescence properties of the samples have been investigated. The relatively high Ms of the samples suggests that this method is suitable for preparing high-quality nanocrystalline copper ferrites for practical applications. Different mechanisms to explain the obtained results and the correlation between magnetism and structure are discussed.

Graphical abstract

Fig. (a–d). XRD-spectra of copper ferrites-samples C1, C2,C3 and C4 prepared by hydrothermal method.

Introduction

Recently, In organic semiconducting materials with large band gap, transition metal ions are introduced into an oxide and change in optical absorption occurred by the charge transfer between impurity levels and the conduction or valence band [1]. Synthesis of nanomaterial with controlled morphology, size, chemical composition, and the crystal structure, and in large quantity, was an key step toward nanotechnological applications. The physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles can vary significantly from those of their bulk counterparts. Exclusive properties, such as, large surface area-to-volume ratios and the ability to selectively mediate chemical transformations, contribute to their usefulness as effective heterogeneous catalysts to fuel transformation, as novel probes for sensing and cell imaging, and as drug delivery agents. All these applications are influenced by the many factors, band gap energy, size and the morphology of particles. These can be controlled by the synthesis method and conditions [2], [3].

The spinel ferrites can usually be labeled by the formula AB₂O₄, where A and B denote divalent and trivalent cations, respectively. Copper ferrite is a normal spinel structure, all of the A (Cu²⁺) sites are tetrahedrally coordinated while the B (Fe³⁺) sites are octahedrally coordinated by oxygen atoms [4]. Several methods, such as, co-precipitation [5], thermal decomposition [6], sol–gel [7] and ball milling [8] techniques are usually employed for the preparation of spinel ferrites.

Reaction in water above its boiling points and therefore under pressure, are called hydrothermal reactions. This very general definition illustrates that a variety of very different chemical processes are categorized under the heading of hydrothermal reactions. The different hydrothermal reaction types described in the literature are decomposition, oxidation, crystallization, precipitation, sintering and leaching. For the synthesis of fine oxide ceramics only hydrothermal precipitation and hydrothermal crystallization are usually considered. Hydrothermal precipitation initiates from a clear metal salt solution while the hydrothermal crystallization uses hydroxide gels or sols. Hydrothermal synthesis yields oxide suspension of crystalline metal oxides, which in some cases can even, be used for ceramic processes without a calcination step. A major advantage with the hydrothermal processing is that high temperature calcination is not required for the formation of the oxide [9], [10], [11], [12].

To the best our knowledge, this is the first report on the synthesis of copper ferrites. In our present study, copper ferrites synthesized were used in the different morphologies (nanorods, nanoparticle, nanoplates and micro spheres) optical and magnetic properties obtained.

Section snippets

Experimental procedures

Copper nitrate and ferric nitrate were used as the starting materials (Merck chemicals, India) without further purification. Cobalt nitrate and ferric nitrate were dissolved in deionized water and then mixed with thioglycolic acid (TGA) 7.89 mmol under constant stirring for 2 h, at room temperature until a clear transparent solution was obtained. The final solution was transferred to a 500 ml teflon-line stainless steel autoclave. The sealed autoclave was allowed to maintain at 200 °C for 8 h, then

Results and discussion

The purity and crystallinity of the CuFe₂O₄ nanostructures were examined by using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 1(a–d) shows the XRD patterns of the products prepared through heating CuFe₂O₄ in air at 400–700 °C for 5 h respectively, for samples were labeled as C1, C2, C3 and C4. These peaks can be indexed as (220), (311), (400) (422), (511), and (440) plane, respectively. These planes are associated with the spinel type zinc aluminate with cubic structure matching with

Conclusions

The physical and optical properties have been investigated by XRD, SEM, PL and magnetic properties. The results of this study show that structural properties could significantly affect the photo generated properties of CuFe₂O₄ prepared by the hydrothermal method. The optical absorption results showed that CuFe₂O₄ is considered as an important material in the field of optoelectronics. But here, we developed a hydrothermal method to synthesize CuFe₂O₄ without any surfactant and toxicity solvent

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View full text

Controllable synthesis of CuFe2O4 nanostructures through simple hydrothermal method in the presence of thioglycolic acid

Highlights

Abstract

Graphical abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Experimental procedures

Results and discussion

Conclusions

J. Mater. Sci.

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA

Drug. Discov. Today

Int. J. Basic Appl. Sci.

Solid State Sci.

J. Magn. Magn. Mater.

J. Alloys Compd.

J. Magn. Magn. Mater.

J. Alloys Compd.

J. Alloys Compd.

Controllable synthesis of CuFe₂O₄ nanostructures through simple hydrothermal method in the presence of thioglycolic acid