Exploration of structural and morphological characteristics of Ag²⁺ substituted Zn-CuFe₂O₄ nanoparticles by green synthesis

The Ag-substituted copper-zinc ferrite Zn_0.5Cu_(0.5−x)Ag_xFe₂O₄, with changing compositions (x = 0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08 and 0.1), was prepared using the solution combustion technique. The solution combustion process is a straightforward, inexpensive and environmentally acceptable way to synthesise magnetic nanoparticles, as utilised in this present work. The structural, morphological, elemental analysis, magnetic and dielectric properties of the prepared samples were studied by X-ray diffraction, SEM, EDAX, TEM, VSM and impedance analysis. The cubic spinel structure was confirmed from the X-ray diffraction patterns and SEM analysis revealed that the samples were agglomerated with a spherical shaped morphology. The magnetic characteristics were examined by VSM measurements. The energy bandgap was determined by analysing the UV-Visible absorbance spectra. It confirms the samples are ferro-magnetic in nature and TEM shows that the particles’ sizes are in the nanoscale range. The samples have no contamination as determined by the EDAX analysis. The increment of the Ag²⁺ dopant in the place of Cu alters the crystallite size to be in the range 50–65 nm and micro-strain is designed within the samples. Doping by Ag²⁺ influences the properties of the nanostructured ferrite materials, as the obtained results demonstrate, and as the level of Ag doping increases, there is a pronounced enhancement in both the dielectric and magnetic properties of the material. These findings signify a promising avenue for the development of advanced EMI shielding materials with improved performance characteristics.