Tuning Structural, Optical, Magnetic, and Dielectric Properties of Green Synthesised Tin-Doped Zn-Cu Nanoferrites
摘要
Herein, we synthesised Sn-doped copper zinc (Cu–Zn) ferrite nanoparticles [Zn0.5Cu0.5SnxFe2-xO4 (ZCFO) with x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5] using green synthesis–assisted sol gel auto-combustion method where Phyllanthus emblica extract is used as a fuel. X-ray diffraction pattern showed the formation of cubic structure, and the crystallite size ranged from 44.1 nm to 37.7 nm. Rietveld Refinement pattern revealed the formation of cubic structure with the Fd3m space group. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) revealed the development of grains in all samples. Raman spectra showed the presence of five Raman-active modes that also confirmed the cubic structure. Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV-Visible) analysis demonstrated an increase in bandgap from 2.37eV to 2.83eV with an increase in doping concentration. Vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM) measurements showed ferrimagnetic behaviour in all samples, as evident by a squareness ratio (SQR) of around 0.04 and a coercivity (Hc) of nearly 25 Oe with highest value of saturation magnetisation (Ms) around 52.4 ± 0.5 emu/g. Frequency-dependent dielectric is studied in the range of 10–107 Hz. The highest value of real component of the dielectric constant (ε′) is found to be 91.1 at 132.50 Hz, and the value of ε″ is found to be 576.3 at 36.50 Hz and the dielectric loss tangent (tan δ) is 0.588. The variation of dielectric parameters with frequency showed the dominance of hopping mechanism in all samples.