Structural, electrical, dielectric and magnetic properties of Mn-Nd substituted CoFeO3 nano sized multiferroics

A series of Mn(x)Co(1-x)Fe(1-y)NdyO(3) (where x=0.01.0 & y=0.00.1) multiferroic nanocrystals was synthesized via sol-gel auto-combustion technique. The structure was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) while morphology was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The electrical resistivity was observed to increase from 2.14x10(7) to 8.77x10(9) Omega-cm and activation energy was found to increase from 0.64 to 0.75 eV, while the drift mobility decreased from 4.75x10(-13) to 1.27x10(-15) cm(2) V-1 S-1 by the substitution of Mn and Nd contents. The dielectric constant, dielectric loss and dielectric loss factor decrease with frequency and Mn-Nd contents. The saturation magnetization was increased from 34 to 70 emu g(-1) while the coercivity decreased from 705 to 262 Oe with the increase of substituents. The increase in electrical resistivity and saturation magnetization while decrease in dielectric parameters and coercivity make these nanomaterials suitable for applications in microwave devices and longitudinal magnetic recording media. (C) 2016 Chinese Materials Research Society. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.