Effect of Ni2+substitution on structural, magnetic and electrical traits of Ba1-xNixFe2O4

Nickel substituted Barium ferrites is synthesized by citrate gel method. Nickel which is transition metal used to tailor the properties of the Ba spinel ferrites. The characterization techniques such as thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultra-violet diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman analysis and direct current (DC) electrical conduc-tivity are used to investigate various properties. XRD and rietveld refinement confirmed the existence of orthorhombic as well as cubic phase with the decrease in lattice parameters in orthorhombic phase. FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of absorption bands for tetrahedral and octahedral sites. Tauc's plots accredited the increase in band gap with increase in Ni content. The magnetic hysterisis loop exhibited large variation in coercivity and remanence. Increased Yafet-Kittel (Y-K) angle indicated redistribution of ions amongst the sites strenthening the A-B exchange interactions. DC electrical conductivity observed the conductive switching from n-type to p-type. Thermally activated charge carriers and hopping of elec-trons boost drift mobility. The activation energy of conduction is observed in the range of 0.40 to 0.85 eV. Raman peaks confirmed formation of orthorhombic as well as cubic phase.(c) 2022 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Nickel substituted Barium ferrites were synthesized by citrate gel method, and characterized through various techniques to investigate their properties variation. The increase in band gap, changes in magnetic properties and electrical conductivity were observed with the increase of nickel content.