Structural and Electrical Characterization of Chromium Substituted Copper Spinel Ferrite

Chromium substituted cupper spinel ferrite nanoparticles with nominal composition CuCrxFe2-xO4 (for x=0.0 & 0.2) have been synthesized by the sol-gel auto combustion technique. The XRD and TEM were employed to evaluate the structure properties of CuCrxFe2-xO4 nanomaterials. The XRD analysis confirms the single phase formation. The various parameters such as lattice constants (‘a’ and ‘c’), cell volume and crystallite size have also been calculated from the XRD data. From Debye Scherrer formula, the crystallite size is found in the range of 30-57 nm, which was supported by TEM studies. The DC electrical conductivity was measured as a function of temperature from 303 K to 650 K and found to behave like semiconductor. The electrical behavior of synthesized nano-spinel ferrites may be explained by polarons and hopping mechanism.