Structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties of yttrium doped cobalt ferrite and their nanocomposites with polythiophene

Abstract

In the present study, the properties of nanocomposites of yttrium-doped cobalt ferrite and polythiophene (PTh) were investigated. Yttrium-doped cobalt ferrite nanoparticles CoY0.02Fe1.98O4 (CY2), CoY0.04Fe1.96O4 (CY4), and CoY0.06Fe1.94O4 (CY6) were synthesized through sol–gel autocombustion method. Their nanocomposites with polythiophene (CY2/PTh, CY4/PTh, and CY6/PTh) were synthesized via the in-situ polymerization method. XRD, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, FESEM, VSM, and impedance analyzer characterization techniques were used to analyze the nanocomposites. The polycrystalline nature of ferrites along with the amorphous nature of PTh was observed in the XRD patterns of the nanocomposites. Additionally, FTIR spectra showed vibrational bands corresponding to both ferrite and PTh. The absence of peak at 240 cm−1 in the Raman spectra and XRD analysis confirmed the pure phase of spinel ferrites. Lesser magnetization was observed in the ferrite/PTh nanocomposites (∼27 - 51 emu/g) in comparison to yttrium-doped cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (∼64 - 84 emu/g). The incorporation of PTh in ferrite led to enhanced dielectric behavior of the materials. The saturation magnetization of ∼ 27 emu/g and maximum conductivity of ∼ 0.8 S/m (at 50 MHz) was obtained for CY4/PTh nanocomposite. Thus, the CY4/PTh nanocomposite showed optimum magnetic and dielectric behavior making it a potential material for electromagnetic interference shielding and supercapacitor applications.