Effect of neodymium ion on the structural, electrical and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline nickel ferrites

Abstract NiNdxFe2-xO4 nanoferrites with different compositions of x = 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07 and 0.09 were prepared using the sonochemical method. The structural, optical and morphological properties of the prepared nanoferrites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, ultra violet-diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray fluorescence techniques. The X-ray diffraction analysis of the prepared nanoferrites confirmed the presence of a cubic spinel structure. The average crystallite sizes of the prepared nanoferrites were 52, 49, 46, 44 and 40 nm for x = 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07 and 0.09, respectively. The particle size of the prepared NiNdxFe2-xO4 nanoferrites was in the range 60–40 nm. The dielectric parameters ranged from 2.9 GHz to 5.6 GHz. Decrease in the dielectric constant was observed with an increase in Nd3+ ions in the prepared NiNdxFe2-xO4 nanoferrites. However, a reverse trend was observed in the dielectric loss. An impedance analysis of the prepared nanoferrites was carried out to explore the pseudo-capacitance behavior. The saturation magnetization and remnant magnetization values of the prepared nanoferrites decreased with an increase in the concentration of Nd3+ ions in NiNdxFe2-xO4 nanoferrites.