Synthesis, electrical and dielectric characterization of cerium doped nano copper ferrites

Abstract The nanosized CuFe 2− x Ce x O 4 ( x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8) ferrites doped with cerium are synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method. The synthesized materials are characterized by XRD, FTIR, TGA and SEM. XRD analysis of cerium substituted copper ferrites confirms the cubic spinel structure. The average crystallite size calculated by using Scherrer's formula ranges from 37 to 53 nm. The values of cell constant and cell volume vary with the dopant concentration. These variations can be explained in terms of their ionic radii. The DC electrical resistivity, measured by two point probe method, increases with increase in dopant concentration while it decreases with rise in temperature exhibiting semiconductor behaviour. Energy of activation of these ferrites is calculated by using Arrhenius type resistivity plots. Dielectric measurements of the synthesized compounds show exponential decrease in dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor with increase in frequency. This indicates the normal dielectric behaviour of ferrites.