Structural, dielectric and magnetic properties of SnO₂-CuFe₂O₄ nanocomposites

The nanocomposites of (SnO₂)_x(CuFe₂O₄)_(1−x) (where x=0–100 wt%) have been successfully synthesized via two steps chemical method. XRD pattern has revealed the formation of inverse spinal phases with tetragonal crystal structure without any impurity phases for CuFe₂O₄ sample. The thermodynamic solubility limit of SnO₂ in CuFe₂O₄ matrix has been found to be 30 wt% and above this percentage crystal phases related to SnO₂ started to appear. The average particle size and shape of CuFe₂O₄ nanoparticles have been strongly influenced by addition of SnO₂ as depicted by TEM results. FTIR results have confirmed the existence of cation vibration bands at tetrahedral and octahedral sites along with Sn-O vibration band at higher concentrations, which also validates the formation of nanocomposites. Furthermore, the dielectric constant, tangent loss and conductivity of CuFe₂O₄ nanoparticles have been found to increase up to 30 wt% addition of SnO₂ and then decreases with further increase which is attributed to variations in resistivity and space charge carriers. Magnetic measurements have shown that saturation magnetization decreases from 35.68 emu/gm to 10.26 emu/gm with the addition of SnO₂ content.