Structural, optical, dielectric and magnetic properties of Cd substituted copper strontium W-type hexaferrite

Abstract

Hexaferrites, with their exceptional crystalline anisotropy, substantial coercivity, tuneable cations, and high magnetic hardness, are crucial as permanent magnets in applications such as information storage, sensors, high-frequency and microwave-absorbing devices. In this study, the focus was on synthesizing copper and cadmium-substituted strontium W-type hexagonal ferrites (SrCu2-xCdxFe16O27) with varying x values of 0.00, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.04. To comprehensively investigate their structural, morphological and optical characteristics, several analytical techniques were employed, including XRD, SEM, FT-IR spectroscopy and UV–Vis spectroscopy along with dielectric and magnetic techniques. The XRD analysis showed a minimum crystallite size of 13 nm for x = 0.0 and a maximum of 21 nm for x = 0.04. The morphology was examined through SEM, affirming the characteristic structure of W-type hexaferrites. FT-IR spectra exhibited two prominent peaks at 491 cm−1 and 890 cm−1, further validating the creation of W-type hexaferrites. Notably, the UV–Vis spectroscopy demonstrated a reduction in the optical band gap from 2.41 to 2.11 eV with increasing concentrations. In terms of dielectric properties, a peak dielectric constant of 71 was observed at frequencies above 2.5 GHz. Furthermore, the AC conductivity displayed a linear trend at lower frequencies, reaching a maximum value of 0.35 [ohm cm]−1 at higher frequencies. The magnetic measurements indicated that the substitution of x = 0.04 exhibited the highest saturation magnetization, Ms value of 1.7 emu/g, but the lowest coercivity, Hc value of 75 Oe was observed.