Effect of Al[sup 3+]-Cr[sup 3+] Substitution on Structural, Cation Distribution and Magnetic Properties of MgFe[sub 2]O[sub 4] Prepared by Chemical Co-precipitation Method

Abstract

The low temperature synthesis of Al‐Cr substituted MgFe2O4 ferrite system have been carried out using chemical co‐precipitation technique at 60 °C. The nanocrystallites of MgAlXCrXFe2−2XO4 ferrite system were characterized by X‐ray diffraction technique. The X‐ray diffractometer (XRD) showed the formation of single phase cubic spinel structure. Energy dispersive analysis of X‐rays (EDAX) showed the composition close to stichiometry of Al‐Cr substituted MgFe2O4. The most intense peak (311) of XRD patterns was used to calculate crystallite size of the samples and the crystallite size was found to be about 30 nm. The cation distribution which depends on the method of preparation and chemical composition has been determined by using XRD method. The saturation magnetization and magneton number obtained from hysteresis loop technique decreases as Al‐Cr content x increases. The decrease in magnetic behavior is attributed to decrease in A‐B interaction.