Structural, electrical, and magnetic properties of erbium (Er3+) substituted Cu–Cd nano-ferrites

In the present work, we reported the structural, electrical, and magnetic properties of erbium Er3+-substituted Cu–Cd nano-ferrites with generalized formula Cu0.8Cd0.2ErxFe2−xO4 (where x = 0.000, 0.0010, 0.0015, 0.002, 0.0025, 0.003), as synthesized by the Citrate-Gel Auto-Combustion. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies were carried out to investigate their microstructural and surface morphology. The XRD measurements confirm pure cubic spinel phase composition of these nanoparticles. The crystallite size ranges over 9.22–19.22 nm and it reduces with the increase in erbium Er3+ concentration from 0.000 to 0.003. The vibration properties were carried out by using FTIR spectrometer. The two probe measurements were used to determine DC resistivity, Curie temperature, and DC conductivity. The plot between DC electrical resistivity and temperature indicates the semiconductor behavior. At room temperature, the vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) was used to investigate magnetic properties, and the observed values revealed the ferrimagnetic behavior with high saturation magnetization (34.24 emu/g) and high coercivity (1121.70 Oe).