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Abstract

Nickel doped Fe3O4 nanoparticles were prepared using ball milling method by varying the different wt.% of nickel. The influence of nickel content on physical properties including structural, magnetic, morphological properties and elemental content of Fe3O4 nanopareticles were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, respectively. XRD patterns of prepared samples were indexed to cubic structure and confirmed that undoped sample consists only Fe3O4 (magnetite) phase, while the nickel doped samples show two phases including Fe3O4 and nickel phase. Moreover, XRD peaks of nickel doped samples shift to slightly lower angles as compared to that of undoped sample resulting increase of crystallite size (29 to 32 nm). These results together with SEM measurements show that the size of the nanoparticles increases with increasing nickel content. Magnetic studies indicated that, in comparison to undoped sample, the saturation magnetization (Ms) of nickel doped samples increases with increasing nickel content. Comparison of elemental composition from raw material to undoped and nickel doped samples shows that the Fe and Ti content increase after being milled, while some impurities such as Al, Si, Ca and others decrease. Hence, based on the observed values of physical properties of the nickel doped Fe3O4 nanoparticles makes them applicable as an efficient material for wastewater remediation.