Structural, Morphological, Dielectric and Magnetic Behaviour of Rare Earth Substituted Cobalt Ferrite Nanoparticles - A Brief Review

Abstract

Cobalt ferrite proposes an excellent platform for solid state crystallography and structural chemistry point of view. The partial substitution of rare earth (RE) ion, such as Sm, Ce, Er, Dy, La and Nd for Fe3+ leads to structural bend in spinel structure which in turn induces strain and considerably modifies electrical and dielectric properties. The chemical as well as physical nature of the dopant into Cobalt Ferrite Oxide (CFO) matrix allows tuning of structural, magnetic and electrical characteristics. In the field of engineering, doping of advanced and efficient ferrite materials with different RE/TM-ions is a well-adopted, straightforward and flexible way to tune the structural properties. Depending on the ionic size and concentration, assimilation of RE/TM-ions in spinel ferrite results in upgraded dielectric constant, rise in resistivity and reductions in dielectric and magnetic losses. Such a detailed understanding of RE incorporation might allow further opportunities to tailor the CFO-based materials’ behavior for selective applications, where thermal and chemical constancy becomes important. The amalgamation of rare earths elements into CFO would be more attractive for future applications, such as advanced sensors and photo-catalysis. Thus, a better understanding of the combined structural, magnetic, dielectric and transport properties of CFMO is highly beneficial to tune the properties for desired electronic and electromagnetic applications. The objective of present review article is to derive a precise understanding of the rare earth elements, substitution effects on the crystal structure, morphology, magnetic behavior, and dielectric properties of CFO.