Enhancing the physical and dielectric characteristics of Mn-Zn-Ni-Ti ferrites using Gd3+ ion

Abstract

This study examines the role of Gd3+ ions in a novel spinel ferrite with a general composition of Mn0.9Zn0.1Ni0.05Ti0.05GdxFe1.9−xO4; 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.04, to determine the critical concentration of Gd3+ ions that at which the structural and dielectric properties of the ferrite show an improvement. The structure of the samples, which were obtained using the traditional ceramic method, was tested by comparing the resulting X-ray diffraction patterns with the peaks of ICDD card No. 74–2402. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs were used to evaluate the surface morphology of the samples. The substitution of Gd3+ions resulted in an increase in the bulk density of the prepared samples. In the frequency range of 0.1–5 MHz, the temperature and frequency dependences of AC electrical resistivity and electrical permittivity were investigated and discussed. Maxwell-Wagner and Koops models were used to describe the frequency dependence of dielectric characteristics. Furthermore, the activation energy, AC resistivity, dielectric loss tangent, and electrical permittivity were investigated in terms of their compositional dependence. The obtained results showed also that the magnetization was found decreases as the concentration of Gd3+ ions increases. The final results showed that increasing the Gd concentration enhanced the physical and dielectric properties of the samples, with an increase in AC resistivity and a 68% reduction in dielectric loss. The Final results also indicated that the sample with x = 0.04 displayed the highest AC resistivity and lowest dielectric loss, which can be exploited in certain technical applications such as transformer cores.