Effect of Nd3+ ions on structural, spectral, magnetic, and dielectric properties of Co–Zn soft ferrites synthesized via sol-gel technique

Abstract

The substitution of Neodymium (Nd) in the cobalt - zinc (Co–Zn) ferrite was analyzed. The sol-gel technique was used to synthesize these ceramic samples. The crystalline structural, molecular characterizations, and magnetic properties were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) experiments, and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) respectively. XRD patterns revealed the single-phase cubic spinel structure of the samples. Lattice parameter varied from 8.41 to 8.38 Å with the inclusion of Nd concentration. The existence of two characteristic frequency bands in the range of 400–1400 cm−1 was confirmed by FTIR spectra. VSM measurements showed the magnetic behaviour at room temperature. The saturation magnetization was noted to decrease from 81 to 66 emu/g with increasing the Nd concentration. The sample having step size x = 0.025 revealed the highest coercivity and retentivity. Dielectric properties were studied and showed variation in dielectric constant, dielectric loss, ac conductivity, and energy dissipation (tangent loss) in the prepared materials.