Study of structural and magnetic properties of Nd doped zinc ferrites

• We report effect of doping concentration on structural and magnetic properties of ZnFe2−x NdxO4 (where x=0.012, 0.025, 0.050, 0.075, and 0.1).
• Samples were synthesized by co-precipitation method followed by heat treatment at 800 °C for two hours.
• The samples were characterized by XRD, FTIR, TEM and VSM techniques.
• VSM results suggest that the energy of a magnetic particle in an external field is proportional to its crystallite size and the number of magnetic particles in a single magnetic domain.

ZnFe2−xNdxO4 (where x=0.012, 0.025, 0.050, 0.075, and 0.1) nanocrystalline ferrites were synthesized by the co-precipitation method followed by the heat treatment at 800 °C for one hour. The morphological and structural properties of the mixed system were characterized by XRD, FTIR, TEM techniques. Infrared spectra show two strong absorption bands in the frequency range 400–600 cm−1 which were respectively attributed to tetrahedral and octahedral sites of the spinel ferrite. The effect of Nd content on crystallites size, lattice parameter and X-ray density of the material has been discussed. The crystallites size of the mixed system was found in the range of 16.8–29.5 nm. Magnetic properties of the material were investigated by the VSM technique. VSM results suggest that the energy of the mixed ferrite, in an external field, is proportional to its crystallite size and the number of magnetic particles in a single magnetic domain. No significant coercivities were recorded which indicates the super paramagnetic behavior of synthesized nanophase mixed ferrites.