The investigation of structural and magnetic properties of Er2−xCoxO3 nano-oxides

Abstract

The sol–gel technique was used to synthesize Er<inf>2−x</inf>Co<inf>x</inf>O<inf>3</inf> (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.30) mixed oxides to analyze structural and magnetic properties. The Rietveld analyses show that Er<inf>2−x</inf>Co<inf>x</inf>O<inf>3</inf> nanoparticles up to x = 0.1 have single phase, for x ≥ 0.2 Co<inf>3</inf>O<inf>4</inf> phase appears. Preferential cationic distribution between the non-equivalent sites 8b and 24d is found for all samples. A systematic variation is found in the average maximum strain with composition x. The magnetic analysis showed that super-paramagnetism is the reason of S-shaped hysteresis loops and also non-zero magnetic moments. Both Mr and Ms increased with increasing concentration of Co+2. © 2022 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.