The effect of composition and temperature on the amount and type of nanoferrite particles inserted in Fe2O3–ZnO–MgO–SiO2 glass–ceramics

Abstract Glass–ceramics with the composition 2Fe 2 O 3 .1ZnO.1MgO.96SiO 2 [4ZnMgFe] and 2Fe 2 O 3 .2ZnO.3MgO.93SiO 2 [7ZnMgFe] (mol%) were prepared using the sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron diffraction (ED) and Mossbauer spectroscopy (MS) were used to investigate the glass–ceramics structure. The samples contain ferrite nanoparticles embedded in a glass matrix. However, zinc ferrite nanoparticles seems to be the preferential crystalline phase formed. The amount of ferrite particles depends on treatment temperature and sample composition. The Mossbauer spectroscopy measurements show that ferrite nanoparticles can exhibit a ferrimagnetic behaviour combined with superparamagnetism.