Coprecipitated transition metal ferrites investigated by XPS

In the present contribution, four transition metal ferrites, namely the manganese perovskite MnFeO3 and the nickel, cobalt and zinc spinels NiFe2O4, CoFe2O4, and ZnFe2O4, were investigated through XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy). The synthesis route for the analyzed materials involved the precipitation of metal oxalates from an aqueous solution of metallic salts and oxalic acid. The precipitate was then isolated and calcined at 900 °C in order to obtain the crystalline ferrite powders. Along with survey scans of the analyzed samples, detailed spectra of the O 1s, C 1s, Fe 2p and M 2p (where M = Mn, Ni, Co, Zn depending on the compound in question) regions were collected. The data resulting from these analyses is discussed.