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Nickel‐induced structural, optical, magnetic, and electrical behavior of α‐Fe 2 O 3
Author(s) -
Kocher Jaspreet,
Kumar Ashok,
Kumar Ashavani,
Priya Shashank,
Kumar Jitendra
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
physica status solidi (b)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1521-3951
pISSN - 0370-1972
DOI - 10.1002/pssb.201451183
Subject(s) - nickel , nanocrystalline material , coercivity , materials science , absorbance , analytical chemistry (journal) , band gap , electrical resistivity and conductivity , magnetization , oxalate , nickel oxide , inorganic chemistry , metallurgy , chemistry , nanotechnology , condensed matter physics , optoelectronics , magnetic field , physics , engineering , chromatography , quantum mechanics , electrical engineering
We report a simple, eco‐friendly facile wet chemical nitrate precursor route for the synthesis of pristine and nickel‐containing nanocrystalline (∼44 nm) α‐Fe 2 O 3 . Thermal analysis of the dried (∼70 °C) presumed oxalate powder, Fe 2 (C 2 O 4 ) 3 · 4H 2 O (also confirmed by X‐ray diffraction), revealed two‐step formation of the oxide; slower reaction as Fe 2 (C 2 O 4 ) 3 · 4H 2 O↓ → 4H 2 O↑ + 2CO 2 ↑ + 2FeC 2 O 4 ↓ and faster as 2FeC 2 O 4 → Fe 2 O 3 ↓ + CO 2 ↑ + 3CO↑. The incorporation of nickel resulted in progressive increase of cell parameters and exhibited decrease in estimated direct and indirect band gap values. The direct band gap values were in close correlation with emission transitions. The direct nature and narrowing of band gap with nickel addition ensures the higher absorbance values and wider spectrum of absorbance; indicating the enhanced semiconducting properties for applications such as solar cells, photocatalytic activity, etc. Regarding magnetic properties, the saturation magnetization increased progressively with nickel content while coercivity reduced up to 2 wt% of Ni content and increased afterward. The resistivity values with nickel incorporation decreased, when substituted at Fe 3+ sites.