Magnetic resonance study of Ce and Gd doped NiFe2O4 nanoparticles

Present work is a study of temperature dependent electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of Ce and Gd doped nickel ferrite nanoparticles. The samples, synthesised by chemical route were characterised by X-ray diffractometer, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The average crystallite size of pure nickel ferrite is similar to 64 nm and for Gd and Ce doped samples it is similar to 20 nm and similar to 14 nm, respectively. The EPR spectra were recorded from 120 to 300 K. Doping with Gd and Ce reduces the line width and g-value in comparison to that of pure nickel ferrite. Ce doped samples have the lowest values of both these parameters at room temperature. This indicates that Ce doped samples show lowest loss and is suitable for high frequency devices. EPR spin numbers are reduced while the spin relaxation time is increased after doping with rare earth ions. Gd doped samples have higher values of relaxation time and lower spin numbers in comparison to that of Ce doped samples. VSM results show that the magnetisation and coercivity are reduced after doping with both Ce and Gd rare earth ions. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.