Structural, spectral, dielectric and magnetic properties of Tb-Dy doped Li-Ni nano-ferrites synthesized via micro-emulsion route

Terbium (Tb) and dysprosium (Dy) doped lithium-nickel nano-sized ferrites (Li0.2Ni0.8Tb0.5xDy0.5xFe2-xO4 where x=0.00-0.08) were prepared by micro-emulsion technique. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirmed the single phase cubic spinel structure. The lattice constant was increased due to larger ionic radii of Tb3+ and Dy3+ cations. The crystallite size was found in the range 30-42 nm. The FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) spectra revealed two significant absorption bands (similar to 400-600 cm(-1)) which indicate the formation of cubic spinel structure. The peaking behavior of dielectric parameters was observed beyond 1.5 GHz. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss were found to decrease by the increase of Tb-Dy contents and frequency. The doping of Tb and Dy in Li-Ni ferrites led to increase the coercive field (120-156 Oe). The smaller magnetic and dielectric parameters suggested the possible utility of these nano-materials in switching and microwave devices applications. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.