Structural and magnetic study of dysprosium substituted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles

The present work investigates the magnetic behavior of Dy3+ substituted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction studies reveal presence of cubic spinel phases in these nanoparticles. Raman spectra of these nanoparticles show change in intensity of Raman bands, which reflects cation redistribution in cubic spinel lattice. Saturation magnetization and coercivity decrease with increase of Dy3+concentration in these nanoparticles. Room temperature Mössbauer measurements show the cation redistribution in these nanoparticles and corroborates the results obtained from Raman Spectroscopic measurements. Decrease in magnetization of Dy3+ substituted cobalt ferrite is attributed to the reduction in the magnetic interaction and cation redistribution.