Investigation of structural and temperature dependent electromagnetic properties of Co0.5Zn0.5CrxFe2−xO4

• XRD study and temperature dependent permeability reveal that all compositions have phase pure cubic spinel structure.
• Cr doped CoZnCr ferrites show reentrant spin glass behavior.
• The saturation magnetization and Néel temperature decrease with Cr substitution.
• The DC resistivity and coercivity increase with Cr content.

Mixed ferrites with nominal chemical compositions Co0.5Zn0.5CrxFe2−xO4 ranging from x=0 to 0.5 in the steps of 0.1 have been prepared by the standard solid state reaction method. XRD patterns confirm single phase and formation of cubic spinel structure. The lattice constant (a0), average grain size (D  ) and bulk density (ρBρB) are decreased with increasing Cr   content. The ρBρB decreases with Cr content due to lighter atomic weight. On the other hand, both D   and ρBρB of each composition increase with increasing sintering temperature (Ts). All samples show reentrant spin glass transition at low temperature in zero field cooled magnetization. The saturation magnetization (Ms) and Néel temperature (TN) decrease with Cr substitution due to weakening the super-exchange interaction. The coercivity (Hc) increases with increasing Cr content for various Co0.5Zn0.5CrxFe2−xO4. It may be attributed to the effect of decreasing D  . Frequency dependent initial permeability (μ′iμ′i) decreases with increasing Cr content. The Ms and ρBρB play an important role in changing μ′iμ′i. On the other hand, the μ′iμ′i for each composition increases with increasing Ts. The highest relative quality factor (Q) is observed for various Co0.5Zn0.5CrxFe2−xO4 sintered at 1573 K. The DC electrical resistivity (ρDCρDC) of these samples increases with increasing Cr content due to decreasing Fe3+ ions at B-site.