Synthesis of NiFe2O4 nanofibers by joint sol-gel and electrospinning technique

Abstract

In this study, electrospinning combined with sol-gel technique is applied in order to produce magnetic nickel ferrite (Ni-ferrite) nanofibers. The prepared Ni-ferrite gel was mixed with poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) solution which was used as a spinning aid to enable spinnability of the mixture. Structural and morphological characteristics of the as-spun ferrite gel/PVP composite web structure and calcinated Ni-ferrite nanofibers were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Phase composition analysis was carried out by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS). The obtained results suggest that the pure nanocrystalline NiFe2O4 dense mat to the almost coral-like structure of fibers with diameters ranging from hundreds of nanometers to few micrometers was obtained. The results of MS analysis revealed the existence of a crystallite size distribution within the material as well as the existence of a superparamagnetic fraction with very small crystallite sizes (<13nm). Magnetic behavior of the obtained material at elevated temperatures was also scrutinized using thermomagnetic measurements (TM) up to 800 °C.