Investigation of structural and magnetic properties of Ce3+-substituted nanosized Co–Cr ferrites for a variety of applications

• Ce-substituted spinel ferrites synthesized by coprecipitation route have been investigated.
• The average particle size was in the range of 30.8–63.7 nm estimated by Scherer formula.
• Saturation magnetization values were decreased with increasing Ce contents.
• Coercivity for all samples is suitable for recording media, switching and EM materials.

Nanocrystalline samples of Ce3+ substituted Co–Cr ferrite with chemical formula CoCr0.04CexFe1.96−xO4 (0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.1) have been synthesized by co-precipitation method and sintered at a temperature of 850 °C for 8 h. The samples were characterized using thermo-gravimetric and differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry. The XRD patterns and FTIR spectra confirm that the prepared samples reveal the formation of spinel ferrites. The average particle size was found to be in the range of 30.8–63.7 nm estimated by Scherer formula. The lattice constant varies in the range of 8.352–8.382 Å due to difference in the ionic radii of the substituted cations. IR studies confirm two main absorption bands in the frequency range of 400–800 cm−1 arising due to the tetrahedral (A-site) and octahedral (B-site) stretching vibrations. The elemental analysis as obtained from the EDXS measurement is in close agreement with the expected composition from the stoichiometry of the reactant solutions. The M–H loops show that the saturation magnetization decreased gradually with increasing Ce content, while the coercivity is related to the microstructure of Ce-substituted samples. The obtained results suggest that the investigated materials are potential candidates for magnetic recording media, security, switching and high frequency applications.