Structural, optical, electrical and magnetic tuning based on Zn substitution at A site in yttrium doped spinel ferrites

The series of Zn2+ doped Co-Ni-Y spinel ferrites with compositional formula Co0.6Ni0.4-xZnxFe1.9Y0.1O4 where x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 were synthesized by chemical co-precipitation technique. Structural, optical, electrical and magnetic properties were explored by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Ultra violet spectroscopy (UV-Vis), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), four-point probes I-V technique and Vibrating sample magne-tometer (VSM), respectively. Variations in lattice constants were detected with the insertion of Zn due to the difference in ionic radii of Zn2+ (0.82 angstrom) and Ni2+ (0.79 angstrom). FTIR outcomes exposed the existence of tetrahedral frequency absorption band in the range of 545.24-522.34 cm -1. Optical band gap energy (Eg) determined from the UV-Vis data was observed to be decreased from 3.86 to 1.84 eV. DC electrical resistivity of synthesized nanoferrites showed decreased nature in the range of 1.46 x 1010-7.78 x 107 omega-cm for x = 0.0-0.4, respectively. Remarkable values of coercivity and microwave frequency signified that fabricated nanoferrites are highly applicable in high frequency switching devices.