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This work’s main purpose is to investigate the effect of Gd3+ substitution on the structural, cation distribution, morphological, and magnetic characteristics of cobalt ferrite nanostructures. The nanostructures were synthesized through the sol-gel auto combustion technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis with the Rietveld refinement through the Material Analysis Using Diffraction (MAUD) program confirmed a single-phase spinel structure for lower contents of Gd3+. However, for higher concentrations, a trace of second phase GdFeO3 was evident. The crystallite size reduction from 17 to 11 nm with Gd3+ doping confirmed the formation of nanocrystalline Co–Gd ferrite. Cation distribution was another parameter inferred from the experimental data of XRD analyzed by the MAUD program. Fourier-transform infrared spectra confirmed the formation of spinel structure through two prominent vibrational modes observed at the desired wavelength range. FESEM analysis confirmed the data obtained from the XRD about the structure and morphology of the nano samples. Saturation magnetization (M S) of the nano samples evaluated at 10 K showed a decreasing behavior from 94 to 86 emu g−1 by Gd3+ doping, while a fluctuating trend of M S was observed at room temperature. Coercive field (H C) evaluated at 10 K reached a maximum value of about 1145 kA m−1 for the sample CoFe1.96Gd0.04O4, and then it decreased. At the same time, H C experienced no considerable change at 300 K. The possible concepts attributed to such a trend of H C were also investigated. Overall, the significant impact of Gd3+ doping on the cobalt ferrite nanoparticles causes Gd–Co ferrite to have a desirable capacity of permanent magnet materials and storage of information with high density. As a result, this ferrite may be a proper candidate to be utilized, especially at lower temperatures.

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This work reports cation distribution, magnetic, structural, and morphological studies of rare-earth Pr doped cobalt ferrite nanoparticles CoFe2−xPrxO4 (x=0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 at. %) fabricated by sol-gel auto-combustion method. X-ray diffraction analysis, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED), and Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) microscopy were utilized to study the structural and morphological characteristics of the prepared samples. Rietveld refinement by the Material Analyses Using Diffraction (MAUD) software showed the formation of mono-phase cubic spinel structure with Fd-3m space group; however, there was a trace of impure PrFeO3 phase for the sample CoFe1.96Pr0.04O4 (x=0.06). Cation distribution was inferred from the XRD patterns using MAUD program. FESEM analysis revealed the spherical-shaped particles with dimensions close to the data extracted from XRD analysis and HRTEM images confirmed it. FTIR measurements revealed the presence of two prominent stretching vibrational modes confirming the successful formation of ferrite spinel structure. Magnetic properties of the nanoparticles were measured at two different temperatures 300 K and 10 K. For the low temperature of 10 K a high sensitive measurement method as Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) magnetometry was used and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) recorded the magnetic data at 300 K. Comparison of the magnetic results exhibited a significant enhancement with temperature drop due to the reduction in thermal fluctuations. Paramagnetic nature of rare-earth ions may be the main reason for MS decrement from 76 emu/g (x=0.0) to 60 emu/g (x=0.02) at 300 K. At 10 K, the estimated cation distribution played a vital role in justification of obtained magnetic results. All the obtained data showed that the synthesized magnetic nanoparticles can be implemented in permanent magnet industry and information storage fields, especially when it comes to lower temperatures.

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