Mössbauer and magnetic study of Mn, Zr and Cd substituted W-type hexaferrites prepared by co-precipitation

BaCo_2−xMn_xFe_16−2y(Zr–Cd)_yO₂₇ (x = 0–0.5 and y = 0–1.0) hexaferrite nanocrystallites of average sizes in the range of 33–42 nm are synthesized by the chemical co-precipitation method. The synthesized materials are characterized using different techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray florescence (ED-XRF), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Mössbauer spectrometer and vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM). Based on analysis of the data obtained from Mössbauer spectral studies, doping is believed to have occurred preferably in the vicinity of 12k sub-lattice, i.e. f_IV (4e, 4f_IV), 2b (6g, 4f) and 2d site. Variations in the saturation magnetization (77.1–60.9 emu g⁻¹), remanent magnetization (22.08–31.23 emu g⁻¹) and coercivity (1570.1–674.7 Oe) exhibit tunable behavior with dopant content and therefore can be useful for application in various magnetic devices.