Nanosize samples of zinc ferrite with different particle sizes synthesized by citrate precursor route have been studied by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The observations suggest that the electronic processes depend sensitively on size, and a big variation occurs in the pattern of temperature dependence of isomer shift on changing the size from 5nm to 6nm and from 6nm to 7nm. The electron density at the nuclear sites first increases, then decreases and again increases as the temperature of the nanosize samples is increased from 12K to 400K. The electric-field gradient varies considerably as the size is changed, but remains almost independent of temperature for a particular size. It is concluded that different aspects of hyperfine interactions in nanophase become significant at different sizes.

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