STUDY PHASE STRUCTURE, CATION DISTRIBUTION AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF COBALT, MAGNESIUM AND COPPER FERRITES

An analysis to the characteristics of Co, Mg and Cu ferrites that were prepared using sol–gel method and annealed at [Formula: see text]C for 1 hour, performed using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy for structural characteristics, while the Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM), was used for the magnetic characteristics. The X-ray analysis of both cobalt and magnesium ferrites shows a reverse crystal structure of a cubic spinel, while copper ferrite shows a tetragonal crystal structure characteristic at this annealing temperature. The lattice constant (a) was found to be [Formula: see text] for CoFe 2 O 4 , [Formula: see text] for MgFe 2 O 4 and [Formula: see text] for CuFe 2 O 4 . The Raman spectrum confirms a spinel crystalline form of the prepared ferrites where a likely distribution of cation is indicated at the tetrahedral and octahedral sites. The peaks of the Raman shift appear between 200–800[Formula: see text]cm[Formula: see text]. These peaks indicate the formation of ferrites. The hysteresis loop of CoFe 2 O 4 indicates a hard magnet material. Cu ferrites have relatively lower remnants and magnetocrystalline anisotropy, which indicates soft magnetic characteristics even though it showed higher coercivity. The squareness ratio (Mr/Ms) values varied between 0.52, 0.13 and 0.57 for CoFe 2 O 4 , MgFe 2 O 4 and CuFe 2 O 4 , respectively. These insights highlight the possibility of tuning the properties of ferrites using a cost-effective sol–gel method.