Melamine-ethylene glycol co-assisted synthesis of magnesium manganese doped nano-ferrites and its effect on magnetic properties

Abstract

The synthesis of magnetic nanoferrites with excellent physicochemical properties is of great research interest. In the current investigation, magnesium manganese-doped nano-ferrite material (Mg0.9Mn0.1Fe2O4) was prepared via a simple and low-temperature “sol–gel auto-combustion” method assisted by ethylene glycol (EG) and melamine (Mel). Herein, a series of five magnesium manganese ferrite materials were synthesised by varying the ratio (1:0, 1:3, 1:1, 3:1, 0:1) of EG to Mel. The magnetic properties are confirmed from the vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analysis; interestingly, the enhancement of the saturation magnetization (Ms) and lower coercivity were found by improving the Mel content with EG. Also, the dielectric characteristics and parameters, such as the dielectric constant (ε') and dielectric loss, have been investigated as a function of frequency. In addition, the surface chemical nature and high crystallinity were confirmed by FT-IR spectra and XRD analysis, respectively. The size of nanoparticles calculated using XRD-analysis indicated the range of synthesised nanoparticles is 17 to 22 nm, whereas the morphology of the material using FESEM was found to be dense and spherical in shape. A comparative analysis was also done to examine the effect of crystallinity and Mel/EG content on the magnetization of the synthesised material. The present ferrite material, which is synthesised at a relatively lower temperature exhibits comparable magnetization to that of reported high-temperature calcined nanoferrites.