Influence of chelating agent on structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties of CoNd0.075Fe1.925O4-nanosized spinels ferrites derived from sol–gel auto-combustion method

The manufacture of nanotechnology is evolving quickly, and it is anticipated that the key developments will have a substantial impact on both business and science and be applicable in a wide range of fields. Cobalt ferrite (CoFe 2 O 4 ) nanoparticles have been thought of as one of the top contenders in this field. The goal of the current work is to determine how the chelating agent affects on the physical properties of Nd + 3 -doped CoFe 2 O 4 (CFO) nanomaterial. Sol–gel auto-combustion method with different chelating agents such as oxalic acid (OA), citric acid (CA), and ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) was used to prepare the Nd + 3 ion-doped cobalt ferrites with the formula CoNd 0.075 Fe 1.925 O 4 (CNFO). X-ray diffraction (XRD) data gathered from the synthesized samples reveal that they have a single-phase spinel structure without any impurity phase or unreacted starting materials. The average particle sizes 28, 35, and 19 nm were observed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for the CNFO samples obtained from OA, CA, and EDTA, respectively. The magnetization value of CNFO obtained from EDTA is 76.79 emu/g, which is superior to that of CNFO obtained from OA (58.48 emu/g) and CA (61.12 emu/g). Temperature-dependent (in the range of 300-500 K) dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and electrical conductivity are also investigated as a function of frequency. The calculated grain boundary activation energy for the CNFO nanomaterial obtained from EDTA is 0.64 eV, and which is higher than that of OA (0.54 eV) and CA (0.58 eV). The nano-sized CNFO synthesized using the EDTA as a chelating agent having the lesser crystallite size (19 nm) and high magnetization (76.79 emu/g) as well as high coercivity (2917 Oe), and hence, it can be used for magnetic data storage and magneto-recording systems.