Structural analysis through cations distributions of diamagnetic Al3+ ions substituted Ni-Zn-Co ferrites

Abstract

In the current study, we explored the influence of structural, morphological, and magnetic properties of diamagnetic aluminum (Al3+) ions substituted nickel-zinc-cobalt (Ni-Zn-Co) spinel ferrites synthesized by the conventional ceramic technique. Single-phase cubic spinel structures with the Fd3m space group of Ni0.4Zn0.35Co0.25Fe(2‐x)AlxO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.12) ferrites were confirmed by the Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction (XRD) data. The lattice constants showed a decreasing trend with Al contents. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to observe the surface morphology. The average grain size estimated from the FE-SEM microstructures was found to be 0.55–0.38 µm for the studied samples. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra identified two prominent absorption bands from 579.82–584.39 cm‐1 and 399.82–405.03 cm‐1 corresponding to the tetrahedral and octahedral voids, respectively. The modes' peak positions were both red-shifted and blue-shifted, as demonstrated in the Raman spectra. Cations distributions were identified by the Mossbauer spectra and from the Rietveld refinement. The concentrations of iron (Fe3+) ions in the sub-lattices were determined using Mossbauer spectra analysis. The maximum saturation magnetization (Ms) was found to be 93.06 emu/g for the sample with x = 0.12. Overall, the obtained results indicate the applicability of the ferrite for high-frequency electronic devices.