Investigation of structural and magnetic properties of cobalt doped nickel ferrite sintered at different temperatures.

Currently, magnetostrictive materials are receiving a lot of attention due to their widespread use in technical applications of Magnetoelectric energy harvesting. In this investigation, we studied the properties of Ni_0.5Co_0.5Fe₂O₄ (NCFO) compound prepared using a sol-gel synthesis process and sintered at 1100 °C, 1200 °C and 1300 °C temperatures. The XRD patterns of NCFO samples confirm the crystalline nature of the material. The microstructure of the different samples was analyzed using a field emission scanning electron microscope. Unit cells of the compounds are generated with VESTA software and the results are discussed in the paper. Raman spectra show the five raman modes of spinel ferrites and conformed the change in cation distribution. Room temperature hysteresis loops show the decrease in coercivity of the compounds with the temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]