Sol–Gel Auto-combustion Preparation of M 2+ = Mg 2+ , Mn 2+ , Cd 2+ Substituted M 0.25 Ni 0.15 Cu 0.25 Co 0.35 Fe 2 O 4 Ferrites and Their Characterizations

Cost-effective and controllable synthesis of M 0.25 Ni 0.15 Cu 0.25 Co 0.35 Fe 2 O 4 (M 2+ = Mg 2+ , Mn 2+ , and Cd 2+ ) ferrites via the sol–gel auto-combustion technique. The impact of divalent cations on the structural, dielectric, and optoelectrical properties of ferrites was examined by XRD, FTIR, Raman, LCR, UV–Vis, and two probe I-V measurement techniques. The crystallite size was 52.66 nm, and the minimum specific surface area was observed 5.1507 m 2 /g for Mg 2+ doped NCCF ferrite. The FTIR and Raman analysis also confirmed the substitution of divalent cations (M 2+ = Mg 2+ , Mn 2+ , and Cd 2+ ) at their respective lattice sites. The maximum energy bandgap was 1.67 eV Mg 2+ -doped NCCF ferrite as compared to other divalent ion-doped ferrites. The dielectric loss decreased while the ac conductivity increased with increasing frequency, and the minimum values were observed for Mg 2+ -doped NCCF ferrite. The activation energy was observed maximum for Mg 2+ -doped NCCF ferrite (0.2234 eV). Due to incredible properties including small specific surface area, large energy band gap, high resistivity, and loss dielectric loss of Mg 2+ -doped NCCF ferrite have potential applications in different fields.