Influence of Zn substitution on the structural and magnetic properties of Co1-xZnxFe2O4 nano-ferrites

Abstract

Polycrystalline samples of Co 1-x Zn x Fe 2 O 4 with stoichiometric proportion (x) varying from 0.2 to 0.8 were prepared through the wet chemical co-precipitation method.The samples were sintered at 200ºC and 400ºC for 3 h and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique.XRD studies revealed the formation of single phase spinel cubical structure.The values of lattice constant, grain size, X-ray density, bulk density, porosity, ionic radii, bond length and hoping length of tetrahedral and octahedral sites have been calculated using X-ray diffraction data.The lattice constant has been found to be increases after sintering the sample at 400ºC.The magnetic properties such as the low field hysteresis loop, magnetization versus temperature curve, saturation magnetization, remanent magnetization, coercivity, Y-K angle and Curie temperature have been determined by using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) data.The value of coercivity confirmed that soft ferrites have been obtained.The value of Curie temperature has been found to be increases with the increase of sintering temperature, while the value of Curie temperature decreases with the increase of Zn content.