Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-020-03897-4 Consequence of B‑site substitution of rare earth (Gd +3 ) on electrical properties of manganese ferrite nanoparticles Pranav P. Naik 1  · Snehal S. Hasolkar 2 Received: 21 April 2020 / Accepted: 28 June 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract Rare-earth-doped ferrite nanomaterials are known to show remarkable variation in structural, magnetic, and electrical behav- ior compared to their un-doped counterparts. In this report, low-temperature synthesis of Gd +3 -doped manganese ferrite with composition MnFe 2−x Gd x O 4 (x = 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08) has been represented. This report includes structural investiga- tions done using X-ray difraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and morphological analysis done through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The compositional analysis was done through energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy EDS. The variation of electrical properties like DC resistivity ‘ρ’, mobility ‘μ’, and dielectric constant ‘ε’ as a function of temperature was also investigated and was seen to depend on rare earth concentration in the ferrite structure. 1 Introduction Ferrites are mainly iron oxides which are ferrimagnetic materials. Ferrites are known to exhibit spinel cubic struc- ture having general formula AB 2 O 4 where A is a divalent metal ion(Fe +2 ,Cr +2 ,Co +2 , Mn 2+ ,Zn 2+ ,Ni 2+ ,Cu 2+ ,Mg 2+ ) and B is the trivalent metal ion (Fe 3+ ). Ferrites material possess excellent structural, magnetic, and electrical properties due to several factors such as cationic distribution, methods of preparation, type, and extent of doping [1]. The spinel confguration is a combination of 8 face-cen- tered cubics (fcc) lattice of oxygen ions, forming 16 tet- rahedral (A) and 32 octahedral (B) sites. Out of these 16 tetrahedral sites, only 8 are occupied by divalent ion, while out of 32 octahedral sites 16 are occupied by trivalent metal ions [2]. The transport properties of ferrite can be greatly altered by incorporating a very small amount of rare earth ions in the ferrite structure. However, doping rare earth ion in the ferrite lattice is not an easy task as it involves several complexities such as large ionic radius of rare earth ions, limited solubility, and variable oxidation states of rare earth ions. Rare earth elements are also known to produce strain in the lattice causing the decrease in crystallinity of the material. These issues have been tackled by the researchers by doping the lower concentration of rare earth. As per the available reports, both magnetic and electrical properties show an extreme dependence on rare earth quantity in fer- rite structure. Rare earth ions are predominantly known to occupy the octahedral site and modify structural, magnetic, and electrical properties by altering the cationic distribution at the tetrahedral and the octahedral sites [3]. Numerous methods are being employed by researchers all over the globe to synthesize ferrite nanoparticles. Methods such as co-precipitation method, Hydrothermal synthesis, and Sol–gel method are very frequently used methods. These methods are judged upon the various parameters such as yield percentage, purity of phase, energy consumption, the time required for the synthesis, and repeatability. Compared to these material preparation methods, combustion method appears to be most ensuring method because of its utmost simplicity, high productivity, and maneuverability over several factors such as size, morphology, composition, and agglomeration degree by varying the experimental condi- tions such as temperature, time, reactants, and stirring rate [4]. Manganese ferrite is known to be a very important mem- ber of the ferrite family due to its strong magnetic character and equally high resistive nature. The unique electrical and magnetic properties of this material at nanoscale presents this material as a strong candidate for applications such as magnetic storage media, transformer cores, ferrofuids, * Pranav P. Naik drppn1987@gmail.com 1 Department of Physics, Goa University, Taleigao Plateau, Goa 403206, India 2 Ganpat Parsekar College of Education, Harmal, Pernem, Goa 403524, India