Investigations of structural, electrical and magnetic characteristics of copper doped nickel-zinc ferrite nanomaterials synthesized by auto-combustion sol-gel technique

Abstract

Copper doped nickel-zinc ferrites nanoparticles with formula CuXNi(0.5-X)Zn0.5Fe2O4 where, X = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 were successfully synthesized using a facile and rapid sol-gel technique at room temperature. X-ray diffraction studies were performed to assess the crystallinity and phase purity, revealing the formation of well-defined single phase spinel nanostructures. The variation in Cu concentration appeared to influence lattice properties and crystallite sizes, exhibiting as these ions were successfully incorporated into the spinel lattice. The change in grain size with evolving x values reveals that the Cu substitution levels play a pivotal role in the ferrite nanoparticles sintering and growth process. The electrical conduction mechanism in ferrites is predominantly attributed to electron migrating among Fe(II) and Fe(III) ions onto octahedral (B) sites of spinel nanostructures. This route is influenced by the proportions of divalent and trivalent iron ions, which are additionally affected by Cu substitution levels. The regular variation in copper content in nickel zinc ferrite has significant implications for the material's structural, electrical, and magnetic characteristics. Structural changes, especially changes in the lattice constant and particle size, are accompanied by variations in electrical conductivity, which are modulated by the hopping process of mixed-valence iron ions. The magnetic characteristics are further impacted by magnetic interactions between cations onto both tetrahedral (A) and octahedral (B) sites, which are modified by varying the concentration of substituent ions. This work sheds light on how controlled doping may be used to alter the multifunctional attributes of ferrite nanoparticles for possible applications in magnetic, electrical, and catalytic sectors.