Liza Castillo, Diana C.

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    Effect of the degree of inversion on the structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties of zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4)
    (2023-05-12) Liza Castillo, Diana C.; Lysenko, Sergiy; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Jiménez, Hector; Ramos Maldonado, Rafael A.; Department of Physics; Méndez Piñero, Mayra I.
    This thesis examines the impact of synthesis method and annealing heat treatment on the structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties of zinc ferrite, with the variation of the inversion parameter x being a determining factor. The stoichiometric proportion of 1:2 between zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) is maintained in the methods used, co-precipitation and Sol-Gel. It was observed that all synthesized nanoparticles have the same spinel structure, with a different inversion parameter depending on the synthesis method and particle size obtained in each method. The smallest nanoparticles were obtained by the co-precipitation method. When a cationic inversion of Fe3+ cations to tetrahedral positions is induced, the effect on their photocatalytic properties is greater than when ferrite is in a normal spinel state. This change starts with a nanoscale particle size smaller than 100 nm, and all synthesized samples are below that value. X-ray diffraction characterization and refinements by the Rietveld method have allowed for an optimal measurement of the cationic inversion produced in the nanoparticles. In all cases, the obtained diffractograms are analyzed to obtain the structural parameters, lattice parameter, crystalline lattice volume, crystallite size, and degrees of inversion. Nanoparticles with a maximum inversion degree, close to 0.49 for a particle size of 10.2 nm, have the best photocatalytic results and are synthesized by the co-precipitation method.