Structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties of multiferroic Co1−xMgxCr2O4 nanoparticles

Abstract We examined the structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties of Co 1−x Mg x Cr 2 O 4 nanoparticles with composition x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8 and 1 in detail. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed normal spinel structure for all the samples. Rietveld refinement fitting results of the XRD showed no impurity phases which signifies the formation of single phase Co 1−x Mg x Cr 2 O 4 nanoparticles. The average crystallite size showed a peak behaviour with maxima at x = 0.6. Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy also confirmed the formation of single phase normal spinel for all the samples and exhibited dominant vibrational changes for x ≥ 0.6. For x = 0 (CoCr 2 O 4 ), zero field cooled/field cooled (ZFC/FC) magnetization curves showed paramagnetic (PM) to ferrimagnetic (FiM) transition at T c  = 97 K and a conical spiral magnetic order at T s  = 30 K. The end members CoCr 2 O 4 (x = 0) and MgCr 2 O 4 (x = 1) are FiM and antiferromagnetic (AFM), respectively. T c and T s showed decreasing trend with increasing x, followed by an additional AFM transition at T N  = 15 K for x = 0.6. The system finally stabilized and changed to highly frustrated AFM structure at x = 1 due to formation of pure MgCr 2 O 4 . High field FC curves (5T) depicted nearly no effect on spiral magnetic state, which is attributed to strong exchange B-B magnetic interactions at low temperatures. Dielectric parameters showed a non-monotonous behaviour with Mg concentration and were explained with the help of Maxwell-Wagner model and Koop’s theory. Dielectric properties were improved for nanoparticles with x = 0.6 and is attributed to their larger average crystallite size. In summary, Mg doping has significantly affects the structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties of CoCr 2 O 4 nanoparticles, which can be attributed to variations in local magnetic exchange interactions and variation in average crystallite size of these chromite nanoparticles.