Preparation and Characterization of Lanthanum Ferrite Nanopowders Using Igepal CO 520 as a Surfactant

In the present study, a reverse micelle method is used to fabricate Lanthanum ferrite nanopowders. Toluene (oil phase), Igepal CO 520 (non-ionic surfactant), and mixed aqueous solutions of Lanthanum (III) nitrate hydrate and Iron (III) nitrate nonohydrate are used to make the microreactor (water phase). The precipitate is formed by introducing ammonium hydroxide to microemulsion. The deposit is then centrifuged, dried, and calcined to prepare LaFeO3 nanopowders. The prepared LaFeO₃ nanopowders were subjected to X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD confirms the presence of LaFeO₃ with cubic spinel structure annealed at 600°C. The size of the crystallites grows as the water to surfactant ratio rises. TEM shows the particle size at water to surfactant ratio of about 11.4 nm. Weak ferromagnetic behavior and reduced magnetic moments are revealed by magnetic measurements. When the water-to-surfactant ratio rises, the absorption band at R=12 shifts to a longer wavelength, as shown by UV-NIR spectroscopy.