Silver and nickel modified cobalt-zinc nanostructured ferrites for potential applications

In this analysis, silver and nickel modified cobalt-zinc nanostructured ferrites, with chemical compositions of Co_0.5Zn_0.5Ag_xNi_yFe_2-x-yO₄ (x = 0.0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03; y = 0.0, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04) were prepared employing sol-gel auto-combustion (SGAC). All samples were inspected for elementary, structural, microstructural, and magnetic traits. The Fd3m space group geometry with pure spinel phase for the produced nanoferrites was shown by Rietveld’s refined X-ray diffraction patterns. Using the Scherrer formula, X-ray diffraction indicated that samples attain a crystallite size (t) of 38-63 (± 0.01) nm. The field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that grain growth was not uniform but rather agglomerated, of varying shapes and sizes. The vibrational stretching within the metal-oxygen at interstitial sites was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, which clearly indicates the creation of Co-Zn spinel nanoferrites. Furthermore, in all the produced samples, five active Raman vibrational modes (E_g, 3T_2g, A_1g) are present, and all of these are related to the cubic spinel structure. A vibrating sample magnetometer is utilized to examine the magnetic traits of produced magnetic samples, displaying soft magnetic behavior. The Co_0.5Zn_0.5Ag_xNi_yFe_2-x-yO₄ (x = 0.00; y = 0.00) sample attains the maximum saturation magnetization (M_s = 64.94 (± 0.001) emu g⁻¹), whereas the maximum coercivity (H_c = 217.33 ± 0.001 Oe) was attained by the Co_0.5Zn_0.5Ag_xNi_yFe_2-x-yO₄ (x = 0.03; y = 0.04) sample, respectively. Therefore, due to the magnetic softness and excellent values of magnetic parameters of the integrated samples, it is possible to use them for potential applications such as recording media, switching, multi-layer chip indicators (MLCIs), and power applications.