Effect of 16 O 6+ ion-irradiation on structural, magnetic properties and antistructural modeling of Zn-nanoferrites

XRD analysis and magnetic measurements were used to study the effect of 80 MeV 16 O 6þ ion-irradiation on structural, magnetic properties, and anti-structural modeling of as-burnt ZnFe 2 O 4 synthesized by sol-gel auto-combustion technique. XRD confirms the formation of single-phase spinel nanoferrite. Irradiation leads to modification of (i) lattice-parameter; strain; oxygen parameter, Fe 3þ , Zn 2þ ions on A, B site; inversion degree; A-O-B, A-O-A, B-O-B super-exchangeinteraction; (ii) saturation magnetization; anisotropy; squareness-ratio; surface dead-layer-thickness. Antistructural modeling describes the surface-active centers for pristine and irradiated samples. Studies reveal strong connection between structural and magnetic properties, useful for ion-irradiation-induced tuning properties of ZnFe 2 O 4 .