PHYSICO-CHEMICAL, STRUCTURAL AND ELECTRICAL STUDIES OF Cu–Zn FERRITES SYNTHESIZED BY NOVEL CHEMICAL ROUTE

Abstract

The physico-chemical, structural and electrical properties of zinc substituted copper ferrites having the general formula Cu 1-x Zn x Fe 2 O 4(x=0.0 to x=0.8) have been studied as a function of zinc ion concentration. The sample was prepared by co-precipitation method from corresponding metal sulphates. X-ray diffraction patterns were used to confirm the structure of synthesized samples. The calculated and theoretical values of average lattice constant, tetrahedral bond, tetrahedral edge and unshared octahedral edge were found to increase, while the shared octahedral edge and octahedral bond decrease as the Zn ion concentration increases. The dielectric constant (ε′) and dielectric loss tangent ( tan δ) were measured at a constant frequency 1 kHz as a function of temperature. The dielectric constant and loss tangent were found to increase with rise in temperature. The conduction mechanism in these ferrites is discussed on the basis of electron exchange between Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ ions. The temperature dependent dc resistivity was carried out in the temperature range 300 to 800 K. The plots of log ρ versus 103/ T are linear showing two regions, corresponding to ferrimagnetic and paramagnetic regions.