Structural Characteristics, Optical, Transport and Magnetic Properties of Zinc Doped Cobalt Chromium Ferrite Prepared by Co-precipitation Method

Abstract

A series of zinc doped cobalt chromium ferrite Co1-xZnxFe1.5Cr0.5O4 (where 0 £ x £ 1) were synthesized by co-precipitation technique. Structural, optical, transport and magnetic properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance, AC electrical properties and hysteresis loop. XRD analysis indicates that all samples consist of a single-phase cubic spinel structure. Rietveld refinement results indicated an increase in lattice parameter due to the replacement of Co2+ by Zn2+ and migration of Fe3+ ions from A-site to B-site. Optical energy band gaps were calculated and it was found that both Eg1 and Eg2 increase with increasing Zn content. Dielectric constant έ, έ', and dielectric loss tangent tanδ were measured at room temperature as a function of applied frequency and temperature. It was noticed, that έ and έ' increase with temperature increment and decrease with increasing frequency and this anomaly can be explained by Maxwell Wagner two-layer model. Magnetic measurements revealed that the saturation magnetization increases as Zn content increases up to Zn=0.4 and after that, the saturation magnetization decreases.