Surface magnetism of Al-substituted Sr-M-type hexagonal ferrites

The surface and bulk magnetic structures of Sr-M-type single-crystal hexagonal ferrites (with the chemical formula SrFe_12?x Al_xO₁₉) have been directly compared by simultaneous gamma, x-ray, and electron Mössbauer spectroscopy. It was found, that when the magnetic lattice of Sr-M hexagonal ferrites is slightly diluted by diamagnetic Al ions, namely, for x=1.8 (SrFe_10.2Al_1.8O₁₉), a ～300-nm thick macroscopic anisotropic layer forms on the crystal surface, wherein iron-ion magnetic moments are oriented differently from those in the bulk of the sample. The reason for the onset of a noncollinear magnetic structure in the surface layer of SrFe_10.2Al_1.8O₁₉ crystals is the additional lowering of the exchange interaction energy caused by the presence of such a “defect” as the surface. Thus an anisotropic surface layer predicted theoretically by L. Néel in 1954 has been detected in ferromagnetic crystals.     

The effect of SiO2 and TiO2 nanoparticles on physical properties of SrFe12O19 nanoparticle

In order to obtain SrFe₁₂O₁₉ nanoparticles, thermal treatment method was employed, and afterwards SiO₂ and TiO₂ nanoparticles were embedded in SrFe₁₂O₁₉ matrix SrFe₁₂O₁₉ nanoparticles. The SiO₂ and TiO₂ nanoparticles' effects were set in SrFe₁₂O₁₉ matrix and experimental techniques which include, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), x-ray analysis (EDX) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) were used in studying the physical properties of the prepared nanoparticles. The precise DASF method (derivation of absorption spectrum fitting) was employed in examining the optical properties. The addition of SiO₂ and TiO₂ nanoparticles to SrFe₁₂O₁₉ matrix resulted in the reduction of energy band gap values in compare with the SrFe₁₂O₁₉ nanoparticles. The chemical analysis of SrFe₁₂O₁₉/SiO₂, SrFe₁₂O₁₉ nanoparticles, and SrFe₁₂O₁₉/TiO₂ nanocomposites was carried out using energy dispersion X-ray analysis (EDX). Ferromagnetic behaviors were demonstrated by SrFe₁₂O₁₉ nanoparticles, SrFe₁₂O₁₉/SiO₂ and SrFe₁₂O₁₉/TiO₂ nanocomposites, and the behaviors were validated through the use of a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). A wasp-waist was observed through hysteresis loop of SrFe₁₂O₁₉/SiO₂ nanocomposites, implying the presence of the two magnetic phases; soft and hard ferromagnetic.     

Effect of Magnetic Pulse Processing on the Structure and Magnetic Properties of Ferrites

The effect a pulsed magnetic field has on the crystal structure and macroscopic magnetic parameters of hexagonal ferrites BaFe₁₂O₁₉ and SrFe₁₂O₁₉ are studied. It is shown that changes in the physical properties of ferrites are due to the ordering of cation vacancies on the boundaries of hexagonal and spinel blocks that minimize local distortion of the oxygen polyhedrons. Violation of the collinear ordering of the magnetic moments of iron ions in the nonequivalent positions of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ ferrite is observed, due to the selective localization of such vacancies (and thus violations of the magnetic relationships in Fe–O–Fe).     

Ultrasound-assisted dispersion of SrFe<Subscript>12</Subscript>O<Subscript>19</Subscript> nanoparticles in organic solvents and the use of the dispersion as magnetic cosmetics

A new method of dispersing the aggregated strontium hexaferrite (SrFe₁₂O₁₉) magnetic nanoparticles in organic solvents such as propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PGMEA), propylene glycol (PG), and glycerol, by an ultrasonic bath is reported herein. The particles size of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ after treatment with the PGMEA is in the range 70–100 nm. The structure of dispersed SrFe₁₂O₁₉ was characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR SEM) and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). This dispersed material was used for the preparation of a topical magnetic cosmetic product as follows: The dispersion of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ in PG was mixed with “Dermud-Ahava Body Cream”, an ‘oil in water’ emulsion of a Dead Sea mineral cosmetic, “AHAVA”, and the magnetic properties of the created composite were determined. The ferrimagnetic behavior of the composite has been demonstrated as being very similar to the behavior of strontium hexaferrite itself.     

Magnetic properties of hexagonal strontium ferrite thick film synthesized by sol–gel processing using SrM nanoparticles

Strontium ferrite SrFe₁₂O₁₉ (SrM) thick films have been synthesized using a spinning coating sol–gel process. The coating sol was formed from SrFe₁₂O₁₉ powders dispersed in the strontium ferrite raw sol. XRD, TEM, SEM, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and ac susceptometer were employed to evaluate the structure, composition and magnetic properties of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ thick films. The results indicated that a uniform and crack-free coating of Strontium ferrite with ∼15 μm thickness can be produced with a good deal of consistency. The magnetization hysteresis loops were almost the same for magnetic fields both applied in parallel and perpendicular.     

Magnetic and Mössbauer spectral studies of x (NiFe2O4) + (1−x)(SrFe12O19), x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 nanocomposites

Nano size composite of x(NiFe₂O₄)+(1?x)(SrFe₁₂O₁₉) were prepared using sol gel and aerosol route. The percentage of the components of NiFe₂O₄ and SrFe₁₂O₁₉ calculated from X-ray diffraction pattern using Rietveld analysis. The hysteresis loop for the as obtained samples exhibits no hysteresis, which may be attributed to super paramagnetic relaxation. The saturation magnetization do not show a significant change with the increase of strontium ferrites, however, the coercivity increased from 115 to 6,000 Oe. The Mössbauer spectra of these nano composites were discussed along with the magnetic moment and X-ray results.     

Simultaneous gamma, x-ray, and electron Mössbauer spectroscopy of the volume and surface magnetic structure of hexagonal M-ferrites

Direct comparative studies are made between the magnetic structures of a surface layer of thickness ～40 nm and the bulk magnetic structure of ferromagnetic single crystals of hexagonal M ferrites (BaFe₁₂O₁₉, SrFe₁₂O₁₉, PbFe₁₂O₁₉) with a magneto-plumbite structure. Measurements are made by simultaneous gamma, x-ray, and electron Mössbauer spectroscopy in order to investigate the properties of the surface layer and the bulk crystal simultaneously. Experimental data obtained with a depth resolution of ～ 10 nm show that the orientation of the magnetic moments of the iron ions (along the crystallographic c axis) does not change on approaching the surface from the crystal volume. Thus, to within an experimental error of ～ 10 nm, single crystals of the hexagonal ferrites BaFe₁₂O₁₉, SrFe₁₂O₁₉, and PbFe₁₂O₁₉ with a ferromagnetic structure do not have a “ transition” surface layer whose magnetic structure differs from that of the bulk crystal such as that which exists, with a depth of several hundred nm, in antiferromagnetic materials with weak ferromagnetism.     

Synthesis of coprecipitated strontium hexaferrite nanoparticles in the presence of polyvinyl alcohol

Strontium hexaferrite (SrFe₁₂O₁₉) nanoparticles were synthesized by the chemical coprecipitation method and using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a protective agent. The synthesized samples were characterized by differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, particle size analyzer, sedimentation test and vibrating sample magnetometer. In the presence of PVA, the single-phase SrFe₁₂O₁₉ nanoparticles were obtained at low temperature of 650 °C. The average particle size of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ precursor was 15 nm, which increased to 61 nm after calcination at 650 °C. The magnetic measurements indicated that PVA decreased coercivity from 4711 to 3216 Oe with particle size reduction. The results showed that PVA as a protective agent could be effective in decreasing the particle size, calcination temperature and coercivity of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ nanoparticles.     

Dynamic-susceptibility studies of the interplay between the Néel and Brown magnetic relaxation mechanisms

We have used temperature- and frequency-resolved ac-susceptibility measurements to investigate the magnetic relaxation of a Co_0.2Fe_2.8O₄ magnetic fluid above the freezing point of the liquid carrier. Our data show that both the Néel and the Brown relaxation mechanisms are operative at temperatures in the vicinity of the out-of-phase (imaginary) susceptibility peak. We separate the contributions of the two mechanisms to the overall relaxation time, and demonstrate that Brownian relaxation plays a dominant role at all temperatures within this high-dissipation regime.     

Microwave absorption properties of 50% SrFe12O19–50% TiO2 nanocomposites with porosity

SrFe₁₂O₁₉–TiO₂ nanocomposites are usually used for absorbing microwaves in military and civil applications. In this work, microwave absorption properties of porous SrFe₁₂O₁₉ nanocomposites with 50% weight ratio of TiO₂ have been investigated. 50% TiO₂–50% SrFe₁₂O₁₉ nanocomposites were prepared by a controlled hydrolysis of titanium tetraisopropoxide in which SrFe₁₂O₁₉ nanoparticles were synthesized by a sol–gel auto combustion route. The morphology, crystalline structure and crystallite size of SrFe₁₂O₁₉–TiO₂ nanocomposites were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray powder diffraction. The magnetic measurements were carried out with a vibrating sample magnetometer. The microwave absorption was measured by a Vector Network Analyzer. The microwave absorption results indicated that the reflection losses for specimens with 52%–56% porosity and thicknesses of 1.8, 2.1 and 2.6 mm were not very low but minimum reflection loss for a specimen with 4.2 mm thickness reached upto −33 dB.     

Relaxation of ferromagnetic nanoparticles in macrophages: In vitro and in vivo studies

The relaxation characteristics of magnetic nanoparticles (CoFe₂O₄) were investigated in J774A.1 macrophages and after voluntary inhalation. In dry form 25% of the particles showed Néel relaxation. Relaxation in macrophages occurred within minutes and could be inhibited by fixation, showing Brownian relaxation and intracellular transport processes. Relaxation in the lung happened similarly, but was dependent on the time after deposition. The particles were cleared from the lung within 2 weeks.     

Preparation of strontium hexaferrite film by pulsed laser deposition with in situ heating and post annealing

Strontium hexaferrite (SrFe₁₂O₁₉) films have been fabricated by pulsed laser deposition on Si(1 0 0) substrate with Pt(1 1 1) underlayer through in situ and post annealing heat treatments. C-axis perpendicular oriented SrFe₁₂O₁₉ films have been confirmed by X-ray diffraction patterns for both of the in situ heated and post annealed films. The cluster-like single domain structures are recognized by magnetic force microscopy. Higher coercivity in perpendicular direction than that for the in-plane direction shows that the films have perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. High perpendicular coercivity, around 3.8 kOe, has been achieved after post annealing at 500 °C. Higher coercivity of the post annealed SrFe₁₂O₁₉ films was found to be related to nanosized grain of about 50–80 nm.     

Phase transformation of strontium hexagonal ferrite

The phase transformation of strontium hexagonal ferrite (SrFe₁₂O₁₉) to magnetite (Fe₃O₄) as main phase and strontium carbonate (SrCO₃) as secondary phase is reported here. SrFe₁₂O₁₉ powder was obtained by a heat treatment at 250 °C under controlled oxygen flow. It was observed that the phase transformation occurred when the SrFe₁₂O₁₉ ferrite was heated up to 625 °C in confinement conditions. This transformation took place by a combination of three factors: the presence of stresses in the crystal lattice of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ due to a low synthesis temperature, the reduction of Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺ during the heating up to 625 °C, and the similarity of the coordination spheres of the iron atoms present in the S-block of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ and Fe₃O₄. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the existence of strain and crystal deformation in SrFe₁₂O₁₉ and the absence of them in the material after the phase transformation. Dispersive X-ray absorption spectroscopy and Fe⁵⁷ Mössbauer spectroscopy provided evidences of the reduction of Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺ in the SrFe₁₂O₁₉ crystal.     

Modifications in magnetic anisotropy of M—type strontium hexaferrite crystals by swift heavy ion irradiation.

Using vibrating sample magnetometery (VSM) 50 MeV Li³⁺ ion irradiation effects on magnetic properties of single crystals of SrGa_xIn_yFe_12−(x+y)O₁₉ (where x=0, 5, 7, 9; y=0, 0.8, 1.3, 1.0), are reported. The substitution of Ga and In in strontium hexaferrite crystals decreases the value of magnetization sharply, which is attributed to shifting of collinear magnetic order to a non-collinear one. Reduction of magnetization is also explained to be as a result of the occupation of the crystallographic sites of Fe³⁺ by Ga³⁺ and In³⁺. The Li³⁺ ion irradiation decreases the value of magnetization, irrespective of whether the crystals are Ga–In substituted or unsubstituted crystals of SrFe₁₂O₁₉. The result is interpreted in terms of the occurrence of a paramagnetic doublet in crystals replacing magnetic sextuplet as a result of irradiation. Substitution of Ga–In in Strontium hexaferrite decreases the value of anisotropy constant. Irradiation with Li³⁺ ions increases the values of anisotropy field for both substituted as well as unsubstituted crystals. Substitution with Ga–In also decreases the Curie temperature (T_c) but the irradiation with Li³⁺ ions does not affect the curie temperature of either Ga–In substituted or pure SrFe₁₂O₁₉ crystals.     

Synthesis and magnetic properties of hard/soft SrFe12O19/Ni0.7Zn0.3Fe2O4 nanocomposite magnets

Magnetic nanocomposite SrFe₁₂O₁₉/Ni_0.7Zn_0.3Fe₂O₄ powders with different weight fractions of the Ni_0.7Zn_0.3Fe₂O₄ soft ferrite were synthesized by a combination of the sol–gel self-propagation and glyoxilate precursor methods. The results of magnetic measurements revealed the higher Mr/Ms ratio for the nanocomposites than that for the single phase SrFe₁₂O₁₉ which proves the existence of the intergrain exchange coupling between hard and soft magnetic phases with the exchange spring behavior. The highest Mr/Ms ratio of 0.63 was obtained in the composite consisting of 80 wt% of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ and 20 wt% Ni_0.7Zn_0.3Fe₂O₄. The microstructural studies of this sample exhibited the average dimensions of hard and soft phases about 20 nm and 15 nm, respectively which are small enough for strong exchange coupling according to the theoretical studies. The variations of the reduced remanence (Mr/Ms) with increasing the weight fraction of the soft phase could be also explained by the role of the exchange and dipolar interactions in tuning the magnetic properties of the nanocomposites.     

Investigations of the magnetic structure of the surface and volume of aluminum-substituted Sr-M type hexaferrites

The magnetic structure of the surface layer of single crystals of hexagonal ferrites of the type Sr-M (SrFe₁₂O₁₉) in which some iron ions are replaced by diamagnetic Al ions is investigated, in direct comparison with the magnetic structure in the bulk of the sample, by the method of simultaneous gamma, x-ray, and electron Mössbauer spectroscopy. It is found that under conditions of diamagnetic dilution of the magnetic lattice of hexagonal ferrites of the type Sr-M by Al ions, a layer ~200 nm thick in which the orientation of the magnetic moments is not collinear with the direction of the moments in the bulk of the sample is observed on the surface of SrFe_10.2Al_1.8O₁₉ crystals. Thus a “transitional” surface layer has been observed on macroscopic ferromagnetic crystals.     

Studies of the surface magnetic state of the Sr-M hexagonal ferrites near the phase transition at the Curie temperature

A study is reported of the temperature dependences of the hyperfine (HF) interaction parameters in a ～200-nm thick surface layer and in the bulk of macroscopic hexagonal ferrite crystals of the Sr-M type (SrFe₁₂O₁₉ and SrFe_10.2Al_1.8O₁₉). The method used for the measurements is Mössbauer spectroscopy with simultaneous detection of gamma quanta, characteristic x-ray emission, and electrons, which permits direct comparison of the HF parameters in the bulk and the near-surface layers of a sample. As follows from the experimentally determined temperature dependences of the effective magnetic fields, the fields at the nuclei of the iron ions located in a ～200-nm thick near-surface layer decrease with increasing temperature faster than those of the ions in the bulk. The transition to paramagnetic state in a ～200-nm thick surface layer was found to occur 3° below the bulk Curie temperature. This offers the first experimental evidence for the transition to paramagnetic state in a surface layer of macroscopic ferromagnets to take place below the Curie temperature T _c for the bulk of the crystal. It has been established that the transition temperature T _c (L) of a thin layer at a depth L from the surface of a crystal increases as one moves away from the surface to reach T _c at the inner boundary of the surface layer called critical. In the vicinity of T _c one observes a nonuniform state, with the crystal being magnetically ordered in the bulk but disordered on the surface. The experimental data obtained were used to construct a phase diagram of surface and bulk states for macroscopic magnets near the Curie (or Néel) temperature.     

Structural and magnetic properties of SrFe12O19 hexaferrite synthesized by a modified chemical co-precipitation method

M-type strontium hexaferrite (SrFe₁₂O₁₉) particles had been prepared by a modified chemical co-precipitation route. Structural and magnetic properties were systematically investigated. Rietveld refinement of X-ray powder diffraction results showed that the sample was single-phase with the space group of P6₃/mmc and cell parameter values of a=5.8751 Å and c=23.0395 Å. The results of field-emission scanning electronic microscopy showed that the grains were regular hexagonal platelets with sizes from 2 to 4 μm. The composition determined by energy dispersive spectroscopy is the stoichiometry of SrFe₁₂O₁₉. The ferrimagnetic to paramagnetic transition was sharp with Curie temperature T_C=737 K, which further confirmed that the samples were single phase. However, it was found that the coercivity, saturation magnetization and the squareness ratio of the synthesized SrFe₁₂O₁₉ samples were lower than the theoretical values, which could be explained by the multi-domain structure and the increase of the demagnetizing factor.     

Effect of pH value on the structural and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline strontium hexaferrite thin films

Strontium hexaferrite SrFe₁₂O₁₉ thin films have been synthesized at different pH, adjusted by NH₄OH, on the Si (1 0 0) substrate using a spin coating sol-gel process. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis and theoretical calculations were conducted for determination and controlling metal citrates in solution precursors. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer were applied to evaluate the composition, microstructure, crystallite size and magnetic properties of the SrFe₁₂O₁₉ thin films. Using the solution with pH 7, the approximately single phase strontium hexaferrite thin films with optimum physical properties can be obtained at calcination temperature of 800 °C. The SrFe₁₂O₁₉ thin films derived from the solution with pH 7 after calcination at 800 °C exhibited crystallite size of 42 nm and magnetic properties of M_s=267 emu/cm³ (at 10 kOe), M_r=134 emu/cm³ and H_c=4290 Oe.