Structural and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Ni0.7-xCuxCd0.3Fe2O4 prepared through Sol-gel method

A series of nanocrystalline Ni0.7-xCuxCd0.3Fe2O4 (0 <= x <= 0.5) are synthesized with the aid of an auto-combusted Sol-gel approach and then annealed at 700 degrees C. Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction (XRD) data reveals the cubic spinel phase of the samples with no impurity peaks. The average crystallite size of the materials is found to range from 18 to 29 nm and the mean particle's size is found between 51 and 69 nm. The variation in the lattice constant and volume of the unit cell with Cu content shows the increasing trend. The nanocrystalline nature of the investigated samples is revealed through Field emission electron microscopy (FESEM) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses. The magnetic properties of the materials are characterized at room temperature by employing the Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) technique. The saturation magnetization and experimental magnetic moment are noticed to decrease up to 20% Cu substitution, thereafter both increase with Cu content. The observed M-H loops, the low values of remanence ratio (M-r/M-S) and coercivity of the studied Ni-Cu-Cd materials suggest their soft ferrimagnetic behavior with the existence of multi-domain (MD) magnetic nanoparticles.

Automated summary

A series of nanocrystalline Ni0.7-xCuxCd0.3Fe2O4 materials were synthesized through an auto-combusted Sol-gel approach and annealed at 700 degrees C. The materials exhibited cubic spinel phase with increasing Cu content resulting in larger crystallite size, particle size, lattice constant, and unit cell volume. Magnetic characterizations showed a decrease in saturation magnetization and experimental magnetic moment with Cu substitution up to 20%, followed by an increase with further Cu content.