Effects of rare-earth Pr3+-Dy3+ doping on structural, magnetic, optical and dielectric properties of Zn2Y hexaferrite

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the properties of Pr3+-Dy3+ doped Zn2Y-type hexaferrite for potential technological applications. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) were used to analyze structural properties. The crystallite size in the synthesized samples varies between 57.54 and 68.57 nm. The vibrational bands at 400 and 600 cm−1, common to all hexaferrites, were confirmed through FTIR. The FESEM analysis reveals an agglomeration of magnetic grains and a decrease in the average grain size from 1.24 to 1.06 μm. The M-H loops show that, with x values of 0.0, 0.1, and 0.2, the saturation magnetization is determined to be 34.76, 34.23, and 32.52 emu/g, respectively. The corresponding coercivity values are 21.24, 30.39, and 33.99 Oe. UV–visible spectroscopy using Tauc theory reveals an increase in the optical band gap from 2.32 to 2.50 eV, indicating a tunable energy band structure by incorporating Pr3+-Dy3+ ions. The dielectric constant increases, whereas AC conductivity decreases with increased Pr3+-Dy3+ concentration. The obtained results suggest the potential suitability of these materials for various technological applications.