Effect of Nd3+ ions on structural, spectral, magnetic, and dielectric properties of Co-Zn soft ferrites synthesized via sol-gel technique

The substitution of Neodymium (Nd) in the cobalt - zinc (Co-Zn) ferrite was analyzed. The sol-gel technique was used to synthesize these ceramic samples. The crystalline structural, molecular characterizations, and magnetic properties were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) experiments, and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) respectively. XRD patterns revealed the single-phase cubic spinel structure of the samples. Lattice parameter varied from 8.41 to 8.38 angstrom with the inclusion of Nd concentration. The existence of two characteristic frequency bands in the range of 400-1400 cm(-1) was confirmed by FTIR spectra. VSM measurements showed the magnetic behaviour at room temperature. The saturation magnetization was noted to decrease from 81 to 66 emu/g with increasing the Nd concentration. The sample having step size x = 0.025 revealed the highest coercivity and retentivity. Dielectric properties were studied and showed variation in dielectric constant, dielectric loss, ac conductivity, and energy dissipation (tangent loss) in the prepared materials.