Effect of cerium ion doping: Alteration in structural, dielectric and magnetic properties of manganese ferrite nanoparticles

The present study reports the effect of Ce-substitution on the structural, chemical, magnetic and dielectric properties of manganese ferrite (MnCe x Fe 2-x O 4 ; x = 0.00–0.15, 0.025) NPs. Ferrite NPs were synthesized via citrate-assisted sol-gel auto-combustion method and annealed at 400 o C. Rietveld refinement XRD patterns validated the cubic spinel phase Ce-doped MnFe 2 O 4 NPs with fd 3 ‾ m space group. The crystallite size was found in the range of 10.01 ± 0.01 to 19.4 ± 0.3 nm. The FTIR spectrum of Ce-doped MnFe 2 O 4 NPs revealed the formation of pure spinel phase. FESEM images of cerium-doped manganese ferrite NPs reveal agglomerated spherical particles with porous surfaces. The homogeneous substitution and elemental composition were confirmed through EDX spectra and elemental mapping. The saturation magnetization of MnFe 2 O 4 decreased with Ce substitution (51.7–13.3 emu/g). For x = 0.15, MnCe x Fe 2-x O 4 NPs exhibited minimum dielectric loss , maximum dielectric constant , and moderate AC conductivity. Relaxation time and spreading factor were also calculated by using a modified Debye's model. MnCe x Fe 2-x O 4 NPs (x = 0.15) showed optimum magnetic and dielectric behaviour making it a potential candidate for electromagnetic shielding application and high-frequency applications.