Impact of Sn4+ substitution in Mg–Zn ferrites: Deciphering the structural, morphological, dielectric, electrical and magnetic properties

Abstract

From the viewpoint of enormous applications and research, ferrite materials have already been achieved the status of one of the important branches of materials science. In this report, we have tuned the physical properties of Mg–Zn ferrites by Sn substitution investigated using X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, electrical and dielectric properties and quantum design physical properties measurement system. The Mg0·5Zn0.5SnxFe2-xO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.10) samples have been synthesized by the conventional ceramic technique. The studied ferrites exhibits the single-phase up to x = 0.08 where an increase in lattice constant was observed. The FESEM images revealed the microstructure and the energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) confirms the absence of any unwanted elements. The increase (decrease) in bulk density (porosity) was associated with the variation of average grain size. FTIR spectra confirmed the formation of spinel structure. The dielectric polarization or conduction mechanism in these materials is due to the hopping of charge carriers at the octahedral sites. The common dielectric behavior of studied compositions is also observed. The substitution of Sn ions leads to enhanced dielectric constant and ac conductivity due to increased hopping of charge carriers. Complex impedance spectroscopy study revealed the non-Debye type of relaxation process within the studied compositions with a dominant contribution from grain boundary resistance. The dynamic magnetic hysteresis loops are measured to obtain the magnetic parameters. The low values of coercivity revealed the soft magnetic nature of the studied compositions. The obtained saturation magnetization (Ms) for Mg–Zn ferrite (x = 0.00) is comparable with the prior result. Non-linear decrease of Ms (62-44 emu/g) due to Sn substitution is explained based on the variation of magnetic moments over A- and B-sites. The squareness ratio (Mr/Ms) revealed that the magneto-statical interaction is present within the synthesized samples. The constant value of initial permeability (μʹ) over a wide range of frequencies revealed the compositional stability and quality of the prepared ferrite. The variation of μʹ with Sn content is similar to that of Msvs Sn contents. Moreover, theoretical cation distribution and the effect of Sn substitution on the related parameters have also been studied. The studied parameters are compared with the reported results, where available.