Structural, morphological, and magnetic characteristics of Co3+ metal ions doped MnFe2O4; novel spinel ferrites

Using the sol–gel nanocrystal growth route, novel spinel ferrites with concentrations of Mn_1-xCo_xFe₂O₄ (x = 0, 0.4, 0.6, 1.0) were synthesized. To reach the crystalline phase, the prepared samples were calcined for three hours at 600 °C. XRD, EDXS, FESEM, and VSM were used to characterize the samples. In addition to determining several other parameters, including lattice constants, cell volume, crystallite size, X-ray density, bulk density, and porosity, XRD analysis verified the formation of a cubic crystal structure. The calculated range for the crystallite size was 29.50–45.07 nm. Doping was associated with an increasing trend in both bulk and X-ray densities. The produced ferrites were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively using the energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDXS) method. Particle size, particle distribution, and grain formation were determined by using a FESEM. SEM showed the surface morphology and determined the grain size (0.07 µm to 0.19 µm). Moreover, VSM examines magnetic characteristics, such as by increasing the doping concentration, the magnetic saturation (M_s) drops from 66.96 to 62.11 emu/g, magnetic retentivity (H_r) increases from 17.31 emu/g to 22.26 emu/g, and magnetic coercivity (H_c) also shows increasing behavior from 304 Oe to 585.53 Oe. By increasing the Co content, the sample exhibits an increasing exchange bias effect from 1 Oe to 13 Oe. In this regard, there has been a great deal of interest in nanoscale spinel ferrite particles, and studied materials have many technological applications in various industries, including drug delivery, microwave technology, refrigeration systems, electrical devices, ferrofluids, and magnetic recording.