Cr3+ and Al3+ co-substituted zinc ferrite: Structural analysis, magnetic and electrical properties

Nanocrystalline powders of chromium and aluminum co-substituted zinc ferrites with general formula ZnFe2-2xCrxAlxO4 (0 <= x <= 1) have been synthesized for the first time. Using the sal-gel auto-combustion technique and the tartaric acid as combustion-complexion agent, materials with spinel mono-phase cubic spinel structure were successfully prepared. The materials were characterized by IR, XRD, SEM and Fe-57 Mossbauer spectroscopy. The crystallite size estimated by Scherrer formula has been found in the range of 16-69 nm. The experimental results combined with those obtained from a mathematical model suggested that all compounds have a mixed ionic distribution. Moreover, relationships between the structure features and the electric and magnetic properties have been established. The magnetic measurements showed that the hysteresis losses and the magnetization at 10 KOE linearly decreased when the Cr-Al content in Zn ferrite increased. The results obtained in dielectric study showed very low values of dielectric loss at frequencies over 1 MHz. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.