THE EFFECT OF DY- DOPING ON THE STRUCTURAL AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF MN-ZN FERRITE NANOPARTICLES

Mn0.8Zn0.2Fe2-xDyxO4 (where x= 0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1) ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized by auto- combustion sol-gel method for the first time in this study. The effect of Dy-doping on the structural and magnetic properties of the produced specimens was examined using the X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), vibrating sample magnetometery (VSM), and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The results showed that a cubic spinel structure was formed in all of the synthesized specimens. It was also found that the addition of Dy increased the lattice parameter while decreased the average of crystallites size. Furthermore, the FE-SEM micrographs showed that Dy not only plays an effective role in reducing the agglomeration of nanoparticles and their distribution, but also reduces the average of particle size. It was also observed that the addition of Dy had no effect on the morphology of the synthesized nanoparticles. Investigation of the magnetic properties revealed a clear decrease in the saturation magnetization and coercivity by the Dy addition. So that the saturation magnetization of the samples decreased from 66.3 to 58.4 emu/g and the coercivity decreased from 78.5 to 71.9 Oe.