Synthesis, micro-structures and magnetic properties of non-equimolar ratio high-entropy spinel oxides (MgNiCoCu)(1-x)/ 4ZnxFe2O4

High-entropy oxides are composed of multi-component composite oxides. High-entropy oxides show some fascinating properties attributed to complex elements. It is generally believed that a considerable level of disorder in the high entropy oxides leads to the random arrangement of metal cations within the lattice. Interestingly, in spinel ferrites, each ion has distinct inclination towards a specific position. In this work, four different high entropy spinel oxides with the same element type but different ratios are designed and synthetized by adjusting the concentration of nonmagnetic ions (Zn2+) in the spinel structure which obviously tends to tetrahedral positions. The findings reveal that the Zn2+ still shows the discernible preference for a tetrahedral orientation in the highly disordered crystal. In addition, the variations of the magnetic properties of high-entropy oxides with the content of Zn2+ are analyzed. The magnetic properties of samples demonstrate that they have elevated adjustability. In addition, with the increase of Zn2+ content, the value of M s fluctuates obviously, which proves that the cations in the high entropy spinel oxide are not completely randomly distributed.