Synthesis, structural, dielectric and magnetic properties of Cd2+ based Mn nanosized ferrites.

Cadmium-substituted manganese ferrite nanoparticles with the general formula Mn1‒xCdxFe2O4(x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8) were synthesised by the citrate‒gel auto combustion method. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed formation of a cubic phase spinel structure with F d 3 ˉ m space group. FT-IR confirms stretching vibration of tetrahedral and octahedral interstitial sites in the spinel lattice. Microstructural features observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrate that agglomerated particles were formed with an increase in average grain size according to Cd2+ content. Elemental composition features and particle size of samples were examined by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The magnetic properties characterised by the highly sensitive magnetometer system (SQUID VSM) at room temperature revealed ferromagnetism in all the samples. The values of dielectric permittivity ε ′ and tangent loss ( tan δ ) decreased exponentially at low frequencies and were in accordance with the Maxwell–Wagner model and Koop's theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]