Low temperature synthesis of nanocrystalline Dy3+ doped cobalt ferrite: Structural and magnetic properties

In the present work, the effect of Dy3+ substitution on the structural and magnetic properties of CoFe2-xDyxO4 (x = 0.00 to 0.1 in step of 0.025) system synthesized by solution combustion method were investigated. The thermal decomposition process was investigated by means of differential and thermal gravimetric analysis that showed that the precursor could yield the final product after calcination above 600 °C. The phase purity and crystal lattice symmetry were estimated from X-ray diffraction studies. The microstructural features were observed by scanning electron microscopy that demonstrates the fine clustered particles with an increase of average grain size with Dy3+ content. The existence of constituent’s, i.e., Co, Fe, and Dy were authenticated by energy dispersive X-ray analysis. An infrared spectroscopy study shows the presence of two absorption bands in the frequency range around 590 cm−1 (ν1) and around 480 cm−1 (ν2); which indicate the presence of tetrahedral and octahedral group complexes, respectively, within the spinel lattice. Room temperature magnetization measurements showed that the saturation magnetization and hysteresis losses (coercivity) decreases with Dy3+ addition, which implies that these materials may be applicable for magnetic data storage and recording media.