Structural, Optical and Electrical Properties of Cu(0.6)Co(x)Zn(0.4−x)Fe(2)O(4) (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) Soft Ferrites

A series of cobalt-inserted copper zinc ferrites, Cu(0.6)Co(x)Zn(0.4−x)Fe(2)O(4) (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) having cubic spinel structure were prepared by the coprecipitation method. Various characterization techniques, including XRD, FTIR, UV-vis and I–V were used to investigate structural optical and electrical properties, respectively. The lattice constant was observed to be decreased as smaller ionic radii Co(2+) (0.74 Å) replaced the higher ionic radii Zn(2+) (0.82 Å). The presence of tetrahedral and octahedral bands was confirmed by FTIR spectra. Optical bandgap energy was determined in the range of 4.44–2.05 eV for x = 0.0 to 0.4 nanoferrites, respectively. DC electrical resistivity was measured and showed an increasing trend (5.42 × 10(8) to 6.48 × 10(8) Ω·cm) with the addition of cobalt contents as cobalt is more conductive than zinc. The range of DC electrical resistivity (10(8) ohm-cm) makes these nanomaterials potential candidates for telecommunication devices.