Effect of Cu on Structural, Elastic and Magnetic Properties of Nanostructured Mn–Zn Ferrite Prepared by a Sol-Gel Auto-Combustion Method

The effect of Cu2+ substitution on the structural, elastic and magnetic properties of Mn0.50Zn0.50-xCuxFe2O4 (x = 0.00-0.25 and x changes at a step of 0.05) has been investigated. The compositions were made utilizing the Sol-Gel auto-ignition procedure and the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the purity of the phase. Decreasing trends have been observed in the lattice constant, bulk density and Poisson's ratio but average grain size, theoretical density and porosity increases with the increasing concentration of Cu2+. Nano metric crystallite sizes have been estimated from FWHM of the X-ray diffraction peaks. Cation distribution in the present study was assessed by the XRD data. Site occupancy of cations helps to understand the variation in magnetic properties and also explains the change taking place in saturation induction, remanence induction and coercivity. The initial permeability increases with the increasing Cu2+ concentration up to x = 0.20 and above this x value it decreases. Observed variations of initial permeability have been clarified based on the increment of average grain size, which also has been conformed from optical micrographs. Saturation induction, coercivity, remanance, and squareness ratio have been considered as a component of Cu2+ content from theB - H loops of the compositions. Possible explanations for the perceived structural, elastic and magnetic behavior with Cu2+ substitutions are discussed.