Enhanced magneto-dielectric characteristics of Ni–Cd ferrites/GNPs composites synthesized via sol-gel auto-combustion method

Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and spinel ferrites (SFs) composites enhance their properties and enable multifunctional applications, ranging from electronics to environmental and biomedical fields. This study investigates the Ni0.4Cd0.6Fe2O4/x-GNPs (x = 0 %, 2.5 %, and 5 %) [NCF/0%GNPs, NCF/2.5%GNPs, and NCF/5%GNPs] composites prepared via sol-gel auto combustion (SGAC) synthesis and their enhanced magneto-dielectric characteristics. XRD analysis confirmed the formation of a single-phase spinel matrix of NCF/GNPs composites and observed that the crystallite size (D) was enhanced from 22.8 nm to 33.6 nm with the increasing concentration of GNPs. Moreover, the bandgap energy (Eg) was reduced with the incorporation of GNPs in the NCF sample. The dielectric constant and tangent loss were enhanced with the addition of GNPs in the NCF spinel lattice. The saturation magnetization and microwave operating frequency were reduced from 97.42 emu/g to 55.13 emu/g and 21.49 GHz–11.97 GHz, respectively, while the coercivity was observed to increase from 92.66 Oe to 263 Oe with the incorporation of GNPs in the NCF lattice. The study highlights the potential of NCF/GNPs composites for applications in electronics, energy storage, sensors, and biomedical devices.