Erbium substituted nickel-cobalt spinel ferrite nanoparticles: Tailoring the structural, magnetic and electrical parameters

In this article, we have reported an effective, rapid as well as economical Er3+ substituted Ni0.4Co0.6Fe2O4 ferrite nanoparticles synthesized via surfactant-assisted co-precipitation route. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dielectric properties, current-voltage (I-V) measurements, and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). XRD and FTIR confirmed the face-centered (FCC) spinel structure of all compositions of the synthesized spinel ferrite nanoparticles. The deviations in the lattice constant granted with the variation in size of the guest (Er3+) and host (Fe3+) cations. These ferrites were also subjected for electrical, magnetic and dielectric investigations. I-V measurements showed that resistivity values decreased from 6.20 x 10(7) Omega cm to 0.03 x 10(7) Omega cm with the increased Er3+ contents. Saturation magnetization increased from 35.99 to 39.95 emu/g. This high value of saturation magnetization suggested the possible utilization of such ferrites for practical applications such as microwave and recording devices fabrication. Interestingly, the magnetic and dielectric properties of nickel-cobalt ferrite nanoparticles showed ample improvement upon Er3+ substitution. The results clearly indicate the potential of Er+3 substituted spinel ferrite particles in various advanced technological devices fabrication.