Effect of Al substitution on the structural and magnetic properties of Co-Zn ferrites

In this work we investigate the effect of aluminum (Al) substitution on the structural, morphological and magnetic properties of Co0.5Zn0.5AlxFe2−xO4 (x = 0.0, 0.05 and 0.1) prepared by sol-gel method. The structural and magnetic properties are performed by using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR) and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) studies. The XRD data revealed the formation of single phase cubic spinel with crystallite sizes around 45.83-51.84 nm for Al substituted samples. Two significant absorption bands around 600 and 400 cm−1 are observed from FT-IR spectra of the samples under investigation, which confirmed the formation of a single-phase cubic spinel. Interionic bond lengths and bond angles confirm the solubility of Al in the spinel lattice and support the observed variation in magnetic properties. Using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), saturation magnetization and coercivity are measured. A decrease in lattice parameter and saturation magnetization with increasing Al concentration is attributed to the difference in the ionic radii and weakening of exchange interactions.