Structural, magnetic and electrical properties of CuZn ferrite nanopowders

Zn-substituted Cu ferrite nanopowders, Cu1−xZnxFe2O4 (0≤x≤1.0), were synthesized by the sol-gel auto-combustion method. The effect of Zn substitution on the structural, magnetic and electrical properties have been investigated. The DTA and TG results indicate that there are three steps of combustion process. The X-ray diffraction patterns show that there are Fe2O3, CuO and CuFeO2 secondary phases and tetragonal structure when x=0.0. Furthermore, the lattice parameter and the average crystallite size decrease, and the X-ray density increases with the increase of Zn substitution. The saturation magnetization increases with the increase of Zn substitution when x≤0.40, and decreases when x>0.40. Meanwhile, the coercivity monotonically decreases with the increase of Zn substitution. The polarization behavior for all the samples in the test frequency range of 100 Hz to 10 MHz obeys the charge polarization mechanism. Electrical transport behavior of the ferrites nanopowders is same with the impurity semiconductor, and the effect of Zn substitution on the temperature dependence of dc resistivity is observed.