Effect of calcination temperature on the structural and magnetic properties of Ni/SBA-15 nanocomposite

Abstract

The effect of calcination temperature on the structural and magnetic properties of Ni/SBA-15 nanocomposite prepared by reductant-impregnation method was studied using SBA-15 mesoporous silica as support. The structure, morphology and magnetic properties of the samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry, N-2 adsorption/desorption (BET and BJH), vibrating sample magnetometer, and FT-IR. Characterization results showed the presence of crystalline phases characteristics of the Ni and/or NiO, and that the structural characteristics of the support were maintained after the impregnation of nickel ions followed by calcinations. Calcination process helps in crystallization and formation of the desired phase such as well crystalline NiO and Ni nano-particles. Moreover, this heat resulted in significant effects on different properties of the products such as the crystallite size, homogeneity, particle distribution, porosity, surface area and the sintering process. Magnetic measurements suggested that the magnetic properties in nanocomposites is probably the sum of two contributions: superparamagnetic and ferromagnetic one depending on the calcination temperature. Calcination at high temperatures affects both of the structural and magnetic properties of Ni/SBA-15. Because the location of the Ni particles depends on the pore size of the support, the uniformity of particle size was related to the interaction between the Ni particles and support.