2025/06/07 by Jia-Hao Li, Li, Jiahao, Kusma Kumari Cheepurupalli +7
Materials Science · Medicine · #Electromagnetic wave absorption materials #FOS: Physical sciences #Iron Metabolism and Disorders #Magnetic Properties and Synthesis of Ferrites #Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2506.06676
openalex publication_date 2025/06/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This study investigates Mn-Zn ferrites (nominal composition \ceMn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4, MZF) substituted with tetravalent (\ceSi4+), trivalent (\ceCo3+), and divalent (\ceCa2+, \ceMg2+, \ceSn2+) ions. We comprehensively analyze how substitutions at specific tetrahedral and octahedral crystallographic sites modulate the spinel lattice's structural stability, electronic band structure, magnetic anisotropy, and electrical conductivity. Density functional theory (DFT) combined with Boltzmann transport theory is employed to probe the thermoelectric and phonon transport properties of pristine and doped MZF systems. Formation energy calculations indicate that substitutions with \ceSi4+, \ceCa2+, and \ceMg2+ enhance the thermodynamic stability of MZF, while \ceCo3+ and \ceSn2+ substitutions exhibit slightly higher formation energies, indicating relatively lower stability. Electronic structure analyses confirm all substituted variants retain a finite band gap, preserving their semiconducting nature. Magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE) calculations reveal that ferrites with mixed octahedral/tetrahedral substitutions display a narrower MAE distribution, signifying more uniform magnetic anisotropy. Thermoelectric property analysis at 300 K demonstrates that multivalent ion doping at either crystallographic site reduces electrical conductivity (σ) while concurrently enhancing the Seebeck coefficient (S). This inverse correlation highlights a doping-induced trade-off, likely driven by increased carrier scattering at defect sites and modifications to the electronic density of states near the Fermi level.