Cation Distribution and Magnetic Properties of Gd+3-Substituted Ni-Zn Nano-ferrites

A series of Gd+3-substituted nanocrystalline Ni-Zn ferrites Ni1-xZnxGd0.1Fe1.9O4 (0 <= x <= 1) are prepared using a low-temperature citrate auto-combustion method. The cation distribution obtained using powder x-ray diffraction demonstrates an increase in hopping length between magnetic and Zn+2 ions. Cation-oxygen vibrations are identified by FTIR spectra. Effect of Zn+2 ion on the magnetic properties at room temperature is determined from the magnetic moment measured through a vibrating sample magnetometer. The magnetic moment and saturation magnetization obey Yafet-Kittel type magnetization with the highest saturation magnetization for x = 0.2 (approximate to 54 emu/g). The low squareness ratio of the samples (0.25-0.12) confirms the uniaxial anisotropy.