Effect of Zr⁴⁺ doping on curie temperature, structural and magnetic properties of Mg-Cr Nano-Ferrite

Zr substituted magnesium ferrite nano-powders, Mg(1+x)Zrx(Fe Cr)1-xO4 (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8) were successfully synthesized using sol-gel auto combustion method. X-ray diffraction patterns of the synthesized ferrites shows that the lattice parameter and the average crystallite size increase with the addition of Zr-ion substitution. Curie temperature (Tc) measurements exhibit increasing trend with zirconium content for all the compositions. Enhancement in Curie temperature is observed due to the double phase present in the crystal structure. The saturation magnetization (Ms) initially increases with Zr concentration.