Investigation of the Dielectric Characteristics of Chromium-substituted Zinc and Cobalt Nanoferrite Systems

Abstract The series of Cr-substituted Zn and Co nanoferrite systems having the chemical composition Cr x ZnFe 2–x O 4 and Cr x CoFe 2–x O 4 (0.0 ≤ x ≤0.5) were prepared by sol–gel technique. The present investigation aims to compare the impact of Cr 3+ concentration on dielectric characteristics of Zn and Co-nanoferrite systems. The investigation of various dielectric characteristics was conducted using an LCR meter at 1kHz frequency and across the frequency range of 100Hz to 1MHz. The measurements were conducted at room temperature. In the case of both ferrite systems, the plots of frequency Vs dielectric constant (ε′) and AC conductivity (σ ac ) show a common dielectric behavior of spinel ferrites. The plots of frequency Vs dissipation factor (D) of Cr- Cr-substituted zinc and Cobalt nanoferrite samples were observed to be unusual and display a relaxation peak at a particular frequency. In the current study, Cr x ZnFe 2-x O 4 (x=0.2 and 0.3) and Cr x CoFe 2–x O 4 (x=0.3) ferrite samples were found to exhibit very high values of dielectric constant. So these ferrites may be useful for a wide range of applications in electrical storage devices. According to LCR reports, all the Cr 3+ substituted ferrite samples in both ferrite systems exhibit higher dielectric constant and AC conductivity values. Possible mechanisms that may be accountable for the outcomes are thoroughly scrutinized in this paper.