Structural and magnetic properties of Ni0.15Mg0.1Cu0.3Zn0.45Fe2O4 ferrite prepared by NaOH-precipitation method

• NiMgCuZn ferrites were successfully prepared by low-temperature sintering.
• NiMgCuZn ferrites have the advantages of both NiCuZn and MgCuZn ferrites.
• NiMgCuZn ferrites exhibit high Curie temperature & high stability of permeability.

The Ni0.15Mg0.1Cu0.3Zn0.45Fe2O4 ferrite powders have been prepared by NaOH co-precipitation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The XRD patterns confirm the single phase spinel structure of synthesized nanoparticles. The average crystallite size of the particles increases from 12 to 36 nm with calcining temperature (Ta) from 500 to 800 °C. The saturation magnetization (Ms) of the superparamagnetic particles was deduced by Langevin theory. Subsequently, the densification characteristics and magnetic properties of the low-temperature 950 °C-sintered ferrite bulk samples were also investigated. The magnetic measurement showed that the sintered bulk sample of Ta = 600 °C has the highest initial permeability (μi), lowest coercivity (Hc), largest saturation magnetization (Ms) and satisfactory thermal stability of μi. The microstructures of sintered samples were examined using field emission scanning electric microscope (FESEM). The Ta has significant influence on the bulk density, initial permeability, saturation magnetization and coercivity of Ni0.15Mg0.1Cu0.3Zn0.45Fe2O4 ferrite.