Eco-friendly synthesis, TEM and magnetic properties of Co-Er nano-ferrites

Abstract

Synthesis of Cobalt-Erbium nano-ferrites with formulation CoErxFe2-xO4 (x = 0, 0.005, 0.010, 0.015, 0.020, 0.025, and 0.030) using technique of citrate-gel auto-combustion was done. Characterization of prepared powders was done using XRD, EDAX, FESEM, TEM, AFM, and FTIR spectroscopy, VSM: magnetic properties, respectively. XRD Rietveld Analysis, SEM, TEM, and EDAX analysis studied spectral, structural, and magnetic properties. XRD pattern of CEF nanoparticles confirms single-phase cubic spinal structure. The structural variables are given by lattice constant (a), lattice volume (v), the average crystallite size (D) and X-ray density (dx), bulk density (d), porosity (p), percentage of pore space (P%), surface area (s), strain(ɛ), dislocation density (δ), along with ionic radii, bond length and hoping length were calculated. SEM and TEM results reveal the homogeneous nature of particles accompanied by clusters having no impurity pickup. TEM analysis gives information about the particle size of nanocrystalline ferrite, while EDAX analysis confirms elemental composition. The emergence of two arch-shaped frequency bands (v1and v2) that represent vibrations at the tetrahedral site (A) and octahedral site(B) was indicated by spectra of FTIR. The XRD Rietveld analysis confirms crystallite size lying between 20.84 nm-14.40 nm, while SEM analysis indicates the formation of agglomerates and TEM analysis indicates particle size ranging between 24nm-16 nm. The XRD Rietveld analysis confirms crystallite size lying between 20.84nm-14.40nm, while SEM analysis indicates the formation of agglomerates and TEM analysis indicates particle size ranging between 24 nm-16 nm. The magnetization measurements indicated that increasing Er3+ content in cobalt ferrites decreases magnetization from 60emu/g to 42emu/g while coercivity decreases (18990) as compared to CoFe2O4 (18998) in cobalt ferrites with doping. The present study investigates the effect of different compositions of Er3+ replaced for Fe on structural and magnetic properties of cobalt ferrites.