Electric and dielectric study of cobalt substituted MgMn nanoferrites synthesized by solution combustion technique

Cobalt substituted Mg–Mn nanoferrites with formulae Mg0.9Mn0.1CoxFe2−xO4, x=0.0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3, have been synthesized for the first time by the solution combustion technique. The effects of Co2+ ions on the dc resistivity, dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent of Mg–Mn nanoferrites at room temperature are presented in this paper. X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of a single phase spinel structure. Particle size was found to increase, 20.9–23.9 nm, with increasing Co2+ concentration. The dc resistivity was increased by two order of magnitude with substitution of Co2+ ions while the dielectric constant was found to be decreasing with the increasing concentration of cobalt ions. The value of dc resistivity obtained for Mg0.9Mn0.1Fe2O4 nanoferrite in our work is greater than the value obtained for the same composition prepared by the conventional ceramic technique. Further, the dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent were observed to be decreasing with the increase in frequency.