Structural and Temperature Dependent-Magnetic and Dielectric Properties of CoNdxFe2-xO4 (0≤ x ≤0.1) Nanoparticles

We present an investigation into the structural and magnetic properties of neodymium-doped cobalt ferrites, described by the general formula CoNdxFe2-xO4 (where x=0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08 & 0.10). CoNdxFe2-xO4 nanoparticles were synthesized using sol-gel auto-combustion method with tartaric acid employed as a chelating agent. The strength of the X-Ray diffraction (XRD) peak diminishes as the concentration of Nd3+ increases from 0 to 0.10 mol%, implying that crystallization is hindered due to relatively large ion radii. The crystallite size decreases from 22 nm to 12 nm, with an increase in Nd3+ concentration from 0 to 0.1 mol% in CoFe2O4. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies reveal irregularly shaped particles with a homogenous distribution. The hysteresis loop obtained from the Vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM) indicates the formation of soft magnetic materials, with magnetization values decreasing from 53 emu/g (x=0) to 40 emu/g (x=0.10) at 3K and from 32 emu/g (x=0) to 20 emu/g (x=0.10) at 300K. Interestingly, the highest coercivity and highest anisotropy constant (K) were observed for the sample x=0.04.