Abstract
The Williamson-Hall (W-H) analysis and size-strain plot method (SSP) were used to study the lattice stress, strain and crystalline size of Zinc ferrite nanoparticles (ZnFe2O4). ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction analysis (PXRD). The PXRD results revealed that the sample product was crystalline with mixed type spinel with cubic structure. The crystalline development in the ZnFe2O4 was investigated by X-ray peak broadening. The physical parameters such as strain, stress and energy density values were calculated more precisely for all the reflection peaks of PXRD using the W-H plots and SSP method. The variation in particle size, lattice strain, stress and energy density calculated from W-H analysis and SSP method reveals that a non-uniform strains in the particles. This non-uniform strain was increased when the particles size were increased.