Synthesis of CuFe_2–xEr_xO₄ nanoparticles and their magnetic, structural and dielectric properties

Erbium-doped nanocrystalline, Cu-ferrites, chemically known as CuFe_2–xEr_xO₄ (x = 0.04, 0.08, 0.12, 0.16, 0.20) were synthesized. The effects of Er³⁺-doped on magnetic, structural and dielectric behaviour of CuFe₂O₄ were studied by XRD, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), TGA, FTIR, VSM, and dielectric analysis. The CuFe_2–xEr_xO₄ ferrites crystallize in spinel cubic structures with ex ≤ 0.12. SEM data demonstrated that their spherical morphology and crystalline size was <50 nm. The XRD spectra of all the prepared samples exhibited peaks of single-phase spinel ferrites. The lattice parameter (A) was amplified with the ascent of Er³⁺ concentration in the latticework. The FTIR patterns of the synthesized ferrites described the asymmetric stretching mode of spinel transition AB₂O₄. SEM photography confirms that the particle size had developed up to 500 nm after doping of Er³⁺. The maximum saturation magnetization (Ms ~ 38.01 emug⁻¹) was observed for CuFe₂O₄. It was found that the decreasing in temperature leads to the great enhancement in the magnetic properties of the examined samples. As the magnetic recording performance of the magnetic samples is enhanced for well-crystallized samples with nano-structural, the effect of Er³⁺ substitution appears to be particularly valuable in this respect.