Effect of Li-Cu doping on structural, electrical and magnetic properties of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles

CoFe2−2xLixCuxO4 (x=0.00, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25) spinel ferrite nanoparticles have been synthesized using a CTAB assisted hydrothermal method. Structural characterization of the ferrite powders was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Employing X-ray diffraction analysis, the synthesized samples were found to be in single crystalline phase with crystallite size of 25-29 nm. The microstructural analysis revealed that the shape of particles can be changed considerably by selecting proper content of the dopants. The room temperature resistivity of all the doped samples was observed to decrease with increase in Li-Cu doping up to a value of 1.9×106 Ω cm. The dielectric measurements showed the normal Maxwell Wagner type dielectric dispersion due to interfacial polarization. The optimum values of saturation magnetization (Ms), remnant magnetization (Mr) and coercivity (Hc) were found as 46 emu/g, 12 emu/g and 284 Oe respectively for Li-Cu content of x=0.10.