Effects of Mn Substitution on Crystallographic and Magnetic Properties of Li-Zn-Cu Ferrites

The effects of manganese substitution on the crystallographic and magnetic properties of Li-Zn-Cu ferrite, Li0.5Zn0.2Cu0.4MnxFe2.1-xO4 (0.0 <= x <= 0.8), were investigated. Ferrites were synthesized via a conventional ceramic method. We confirmed the formation of crystallized particles using X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and Mossbauer spectroscopy. All of the samples showed a single phase with a spinel structure, and the lattice constants linearly decreased as the substituted manganese content increased, and the particle size of the samples also somewhat decreased as the doped manganese content increased. All the MOssbauer spectra can be fitted with two Zeeman sextets, which are the typical spinel ferrite spectra of Fe3+ with A- and B-sites, and one doublet. The cation distribution was determined from the variation of the Mossbauer parameters and of the absorption area ratio. The magnetic behavior of the samples showed that an increase in manganese content led to a decrease in the saturation magnetization, whereas the coercivity was nearly constant throughout. The maximum saturation magnetization was 73.35 emu/g at x = 0.0 in Li0.5Zn0.2Cu0.4MnxFe2.1-xO4.