Magnetic study of Ti-substituted NiFe2O4 ferrite

The Ni_1+xTi_xFe_2−2xO₄ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) ferrite systems prepared by a semi-chemical route, have been studied by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) at X-band, Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetization measurements at various temperatures. EPR spectra of these samples comprise generally a broad and asymmetric EPR signal. The variation of g_eff and peak-to-peak line width ΔH_pp, with Ti concentration and temperature are attributed to the variation of dipole–dipole interaction and the superexchange interaction. Mössbauer spectra comprise two sets of sextet attributed to Fe³⁺ at two distinct sites-A and -B. Ti⁴⁺ ions are concluded to occupy the octahedral B-sites. Magnetic moment is found to decrease with the increase of Ti⁴⁺ concentration. The effective magnetic field H_eff at the A-sites also follows a similar trend. The reason is attributed to the canted structure of spins in the Ti-doped samples. An anomalous behavior at x = 0.015 is observed in the properties studied here and some sort of phase change is believed to occur at 473 K in these ferrites.