Sol-gel auto-combustion synthesis and characterization of Nd3+doped Cu0.5Co0.5Fe2-xNdxO4 (x=0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, & 0.5) spinel ferrites

Rare earth metal Neodymium (Nd3+) doped nano-crystalline Copper-Cobalt (Cu-Co) spinel ferrites which are represented as Cu0.5Co0.5NdxFe2-xO4 (x =0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5) chemically were prepared through "sol- gel auto-combustion method". The structural/mechanical, morphological and infrared characteristics were studied in comprehension in the light of Nd3+doping, using industrial standard techniques. For all of the pre-pared samples, an X-ray investigation confirms the production of cubic spinel structures in a single phase without the presence of any secondary or impurity phases. Crystallite size and the lattice parameter of Cu0.5Co0.5Nd0Fe2- 0O4 found 40 nm and 8.361 angstrom respectively. The findings demonstrate a clear correlation between increasing Nd3+content and a decrease in both the crystallite size and lattice parameter. Surface texture and morphology was examined through Scanning Electron Microscopy. According to the results of SEM investigation, the grain size ranged from 13 nm to 0.2 mu m. The stretching modes of vibrations at 466 cm1, 660 cm1, and 274 cm1, which are typical modes of spinel ferrites, were discovered via micro-Raman spectroscopy. Optical behaviour of ferrite material observed by UV-Visible spectroscopy. For undoped samples, UV-vis indicated a maximum wavelength of 249 nm, but for doped samples, which are varied through 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5, the wavelength ranges from 230 to 237 nm. The saturation magnetization was observed to increase with a further increase in Nd3+concentration (x =0.5), which may be helpful in storage devices