Structural, morphological, and magnetic study of low temperature synthesized Co0.75Ni0.25Fe1.95Dy0.05O4 nano ferrite

Abstract

The nanoparticles of Co0.75Ni0.25Fe2−zDyzO4 (z = 0.0 and 0.05) were prepared by the sol-gel auto-combustion method. The cation distribution was calculated from the Rietveld refinement of the XRD pattern to confirm a mixed inverse spinel structure. The crystallite size was calculated by the Debye–Scherrer method, modified Scherrer method, Williamson Hall plot method, and size-strain plot method for prepared samples. The variation in crystallite size was observed due to the contribution of lattice strain on line peak broadening. From Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrum the absorption bands appeared at 574.79 cm−1 and 414.70 cm−1 reveals spinel ferrite structure for Co0.75Ni0.25Fe1.95Dy0.05O4. The particle size from a high-resolution scanning electron microscope (HR-SEM) the image was found to be 46.99 nm for Co0.75Ni0.25Fe1.95Dy0.05O4. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDS) was confirmed the purity of the sample with good stoichiometry. The coercivity, retentivity, and saturation magnetization were estimated at 841.97 Oe, 30.95 emu g−1 and 61.80 emu g−1 respectively for Co0.75Ni0.25Fe1.95Dy0.05O4. The squareness ratio for Co0.75Ni0.25Fe1.95Dy0.05O4 nanoferrite was found to be 0.5 which is the ideal Stoner—Wohlfarth value. The experimental estimated net magnetic moment () per formula was less than the theoretical value calculated from Neel’s two sublattice model for prepared samples.