Effect of Zn–Cr substitution on the structural, magnetic and electrical properties of magnesium ferrite materials

Highlights: • XRD patterns revealed that the cubic spinel structure and pure phased. • The FT-IR spectrum shows characteristic features of spinel structure. • The maximum saturation magnetization value (58.718 emu/g) registered at x = 0.1. • DC electrical resistivity has found to show the highest magnitude 10⁷ Ω cm at x = 0.1. -- Abstract: The ferrite having the general chemical formula Mg_1-xZn_xFe_2-xCr_xO₄ (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7) prepared by the solid state technique. The XRD analysis depicted the presence of single phase cubic spinel structure. They showed an increasing trend of lattice parameter with the expansion of the spinel lattice which resulted from the partial incorporation of larger radii. The FT-IR absorption bands are observed at 590 and 430 cm⁻¹ for tetrahedral and octahedral location. These bands are shifting toward 604.7 and 474.15 cm⁻¹ for Zn–Cr substitution due to the change in Me–O covalence. DC electrical resistivity has found to show the highest magnitude 10⁷ Ω cm at x = 0.1, decreases with further increase in content. The hysteresis curves measured at 300 K demonstrate the coercivity and it varies from 146.33 to 9.427 Oe for increasing the content which confirms decreasing the grain size as well as soft ferrimagnetic material.