Structural and electromagnetic characteristics of substituted strontium hexaferrite nanoparticles

Substituted strontium ferrite SrFe₉(Mn_0.5Co_0.5Zr)_3/2O₁₉ has been prepared from sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and vector network analyzer, were used to analyze the structure and dynamic magnetic properties. Powders of sample show a hexagonal fine platelet structure and narrow particle size distribution. Based on microwave measurement on reflectivity, SrFe₉(Mn_0.5Co_0.5Zr)_3/2O₁₉ may be a good candidate for electromagnetic compatibility and other practical applications at high frequency.     

Tuning of magnetic properties of aluminium-doped strontium hexaferrite powders

M-type Al-doped strontium ferrite powders(Sr Alx Fe_(2n-x) O_(19), n = 5.9) with nominal Al content of x = 0–2.0 are prepared by traditional ceramic technology. The phase identification of the powders, performed using x-ray diffraction,shows the presence of purity hexaferrite structure and absence of any secondary phase. The lattice parameters decrease with increasing x. The average grain size of the powders is about 300 nm–400 nm at Al~(3+)ion content x = 0–2.0. The roomtemperature hysteresis loops of the powders, measured by using vibrating sample magnetometer, show that the specific saturation magnetization(σ_s) value continuously decreases while the coercivity(Hc) value increases with increasing x, and Hc reaches to 9759 Oe(1 Oe = 79.5775 A/m) at x = 2.0. According to the law of approach saturation, Hc value increases with increasing Al~(3+)ion content, which is attributed to the saturation magnetization(Ms) decreasing more rapidly than the magnetic anisotropy constant(K_1) obtained by numerical fitting of the hysteresis loops. The distribution of Al~(3+)ions in the hexaferrite structure of Sr Alx Fe_(2n-x) O_(19) is investigated by using 57 Co Mssbauer spectroscopy. The effect of Al~(3+)doping on static magnetic properties contributes to the improvement of magnetic anisotropy field.     

Preparation and investigation of magnetic properties of MnNiTi-substituted strontium hexaferrite nanoparticles

A series of M-type strontium hexaferrite powders with substitution of Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ ions for Fe³⁺ ions according to the formula SrFe₉(Mn_0.5−xNi_xTi_0.5)₃O₁₉, where x ranges from 0 to 0.5 with a step of 0.1, has been prepared via the conventional ceramic method. In order to get nanoparticles, the obtained powders were milled in a high energy SPEX mill for 1 h. XRD investigations of the unmilled and milled powders show that the prepared samples are all single phase hexaferrite. Lattice parameters and mean crystallite sizes of the powders were determined from the XRD data and Scherrer’s formula. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) was used to analyze their structures. Room temperature magnetizations and coercivities of the samples in a magnetic field of 15 kOe have been determined from the hysteresis loops. It was found that magnetizations of the milled samples were smaller than the magnetization of the unmilled samples. This decrease, based on core-shell model, has been attributed to the presence of a magnetically dead layer on the particles’ surface of the milled powders. In addition, the magnetizations of the milled samples decrease with the increase in x value. This decrease has been discussed according to site occupation of the substituted cations on the sublattices. The discussion also supports the increase of lattice parameters and the decrease of Curie temperature as x increases.     

The effect of strontium dissolution by milling in water on the magnetic properties of strontium hexaferrite

The milling in or the simple contact with water of strontium hexaferrite powders produces a loss of stromtium ions which amounted to about 10% from the total amount present in ferrite when the stoichiometric compound was wet milled for 10 h. The magnetic moment of these powders decreased by as much as 10% compared to the similarly milled samples in alcohol whose chemical composition was not effected by the milling medium. The Curie temperature of the Sr deficient samples was also lower than that of the stoichiometric ones. The experimental results are discussed in terms of the modications of the superexchange interaction between the octahedral iron on the 4f and 12k sublattices, brougth about by the possible loss of oxygen atoms from the 12K sites which leave the lattice together with the Sr ions in orfer to compensate for the electric charge.     

Magnetic properties of strontium hexaferrite films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

The magnetic properties of strontium hexaferrite (SrFe₁₂O₁₉) films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition on the Si(100) substrate with Pt(111) underlayer have been studied as a function of film thickness (50–700 nm). X-ray diffraction patterns confirm that the films have c-axis perpendicular orientation. The coercivities in perpendicular direction are higher than those for in-plane direction which indicates the films have perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The coercivity was found to decrease with increasing of thickness, due to the increasing of the grain size and relaxation in lattice strain. The 200 nm thick film exhibits hexagonal shape grains of 150 nm and optimum magnetic properties of M_s=298 emu/cm³ and H_c=2540 Oe.     

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.     

A study of neodymium substituted yttrium iron garnet

Yttrium Iron Garnet (3Y₂O₃, 5Fe₂O₃), a ceramic magnetic material, belongs to the ferrite family. This research has made a study of this garnet in which a portion of the yttrium has been replaced with neodymium, causing a ferro rather than a ferri magnetic alignment of moments. Precision determination of lattice parameters showed that 1.95 Nd could substitute for Y. Electrical and magnetic evaluations were made for several substituted compositions. Resitivities were 10⁷ − 10¹¹ Ω-cm, depending on processing. For the NdYIG series, the maximum Curie temperature was 295°C, and the maximum saturation magnetization was 2100 G. The initial permeability, μ₀, varied from twenty-four to thirty-eight depending on composition.     

Zn and Zr co-doped M-type strontium hexaferrite: Synthesis,characterization and hyperthermia application

In the present study, hard ferromagnetic (M-type strontium hexaferrite) SrFe₁₂O₁₉ was co-doped by Zn and Zr for magnetic hyperthermia applications. As a result of the high concentration of single domain SrFe₁₂O₁₉ nanoparticles (suspended in the ferrofluid), they found a large hydrodynamic diameter, which caused a long-time Brownian relaxation under the AC magnetic field. On the other hand, increasing the Zn-Zr content (low concentration of SrFe₁₂O₁₉) led to a drop in anisotropy, which coincided with a short-time N´eel relaxation. All of the substituted samples with a multi-disperse state in ferrofluid exhibited an almost equal amount of the N´eel and Brownian effects. Consequently, the magnetic saturation (M_s) was considered as the dominant factor in the specific absorption rate (SAR) of the substituted samples. Transformation to the mono-disperse state was followed by the decrease of the Brownian relaxation time and hence the increase of the SAR. The interesting point in mono-disperse state was the heat generation of pure SrFe₁₂O₁₉ under the AC magnetic field as a result of the decrement of the Brownian relaxation time.     

Magnetic properties of cobalt substituted M-type barium hexaferrite prepared by co-precipitation

The co-precipitation and solid state methods were used in the synthesis of barium hexaferrite (BaM). Phase pure BaM was obtained with 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 wt% cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄). The addition of Co^2+/3+ ions to the BaM increased the permeability and magnetic loss tangent to a value of 3.5 at 5% and reduced to 1 at 30% doping. With increased Co doping, M_s was reduced from 87-58 emu/g, M_r increased from 11 to 40 emu/g with 3–5 wt% Co and 9 emu/g for 30% doping. H_c sharply increased from 540 to 2200 Oe with a reduction to 280 Oe at 10 K with increasing temperature to 300 K. T_c increased from 740 to 750 K for 30% Co doping. DTA–TGA studies of green body showed decarboxilation to occur at around 825 °C and the transformation of residual Co₃O₄ to Co₂O₃ at around 577 °C. The XRD data confirmed the Co ions substituting into Fe sites until a 10–15% doping level where the structure altered to W-type hexaferrite. The densities of the compounds varied with doping to a maximum of 4.45 g/cm³.     

Studies on strontium substituted rare earth manganites

Sintering, electrical conductivity and thermal expansion behaviour of combustion synthesised strontium substituted rare earth manganites with the general formula Ln_1−xSr_xMnO₃ (Ln=Pr, Nd and Sm; x=0, 0.16 and 0.25) have been investigated as solid oxide fuel cell cathode materials. The combustion derived rare earth manganites have surface area in the range of 13–40 m²/g. Strontium substitution increases the electrical conductivity values in all the rare earth manganites. With the decreasing ionic radii of rare earth ions, the conductivity value decreases. Among the rare earth manganites studied, (Pr/Nd)_0.75Sr_0.25MnO₃ show high electrical conductivity (>100 S/cm). The thermal expansion coefficients of Pr_0.75Sr_0.25MnO₃ and Nd_0.75Sr_0.25MnO₃ were found to be 10.2×10⁻⁶ and 10.7×10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ respectively, which is very close to that of the electrolyte (YSZ) used in solid oxide fuel cells.     

The influence of Nd-Co substitution on the magnetic properties of non-stoichiometric strontium hexaferrite nanoparticles

Non-stoichiometric Nd-Co substituted hexaferrites of composition Sr_1−xNd_xFe_12(1−x)Co_xO₁₉ (x=0-0.4) were prepared by the self-propagating combustion method and subsequent heat treatments. Structural characterization of samples showed that the M-type hexagonal structure can be maintained for substitutions x<0.4 without the segregation of secondary phases on samples calcined at 1100 °C. The crystallites sizes range between 50 and 70 nm. Mössbauer spectroscopy results indicate that the iron vacancies are not evenly distributed over the lattice and that Co/Fe substitution mainly takes place in site 4f2. Magnetic measurements reveal that values of saturation magnetization M_S increased from 72 to 76 Am²/kg (x=0-0.2), while coercivity H_c increased from 26.40 to 58.70 A/m (x=0-0.3). Nd-Co substitutions enhance magnetic properties in deficient iron Sr hexaferrites.     

Elastic behavior of neodymium based manganites

With a view to investigate the elastic behavior of Nd_0.67A_0.33MnO₃ (where A = Ca, Sr, Ba, Pb) manganite system, the samples were prepared by the sol gel method. After characterizing the samples structurally, a systematic investigation of ultrasonic longitudinal and transverse sound velocities of all the samples was undertaken by pulse transmission technique in the temperature range, 100-300 K. It has been found that all the elasticity parameters, including Debye temperature, are found to increase continuously with increasing ionic radii of the dopant ion. All the samples are also found to exhibit anomalies in both the longitudinal and transverse velocities near their ferro to para magnetic transition (T_C) temperatures. Apart from this, Nd_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ sample is also found to exhibit, a transition at its charge ordering temperature (T_co). An explanation for the observed elastic anomalies based on a mean field theory has been given.     

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.     

Dielectric properties Ca-substituted barium strontium titanate ferroelectric ceramics

The dielectric and ferroelectric properties of Ba_1−xSr_xTiO₃ (BST) (x=0.10,0.20,0.30,0.40 and 0.60) ceramics and Ba_1−2xSr_xCa_xTiO₃ (BSCT) (x=0.10,0.20,0.30) ceramics have been investigated. The low temperature phase transitions of BST ceramics vanish after Ca²⁺ substitution while the high temperature transition is diffused and relaxed, which becomes more obvious with increasing x. Ca²⁺ substitution obviously decreases the dielectric constant maximum, K_m, of BST ceramics and changes the temperature of dielectric constant maximum, T_m, of BST ceramics. The shift of T_m in BST is attributed mainly to the Sr²⁺ and Ba²⁺ concentration. BST ceramics exhibit almost normal ferroelectric characteristics, while a typical relaxor behavior was observed in BSCT ceramics. The relaxor behavior observations may be understood by a random electric field induced domain state.     

Magnetic properties of substituted strontium ferrite nanoparticles and thin films

SrFe_12−x(Zr_0.5Mg_0.5)_xO₁₉ nanoparticles and thin films with x=0-2.5 were synthesized by a sol-gel method on thermally oxidized silicon wafer (Si/SiO₂). Structural and magnetic characteristics of synthesized samples were studied employing x-rays diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), magnetic susceptometer, atomic force microscopy (AFM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). TEM micrographs display that the narrow size distribution of ferrite nanoparticles with average particle size of 50 nm were fabricated. Fitting obtained data of effective magnetic susceptibility by Vogel-Fulcher law confirms the existence of strong magnetic interaction among fine particles. XRD patterns and FE-SEM micrographs demonstrated that single phase c-axis hexagonal ferrite films with rather narrow grain size distribution were obtained. AFM micrographs exhibited that the surface roughness increases with an increase in Zr-Mg content. It was found from the VSM graphs that with an increase in substitution contents the coercivity decreases, while the saturation of magnetization increases. The Henkle plots confirms the existence of exchange coupling among nano-grain in ferrite thin films.     

Oxygen nonstoichiometry and transport properties of strontium substituted lanthanum cobaltite

Oxygen nonstoichiometry, structure and transport properties of the two compositions (La_0.6Sr_0.4)_0.99CoO_3−δ (LSC40) and La_0.85Sr_0.15CoO_3−δ (LSC15) were measured. It was found that the oxygen nonstoichiometry as a function of the temperature and oxygen partial pressure could be described using the itinerant electron model. The electrical conductivity, σ, of the materials is high (σ > 500 S cm^− 1) in the measured temperature range (650–1000 °C) and oxygen partial pressure range (0.209–10^− 4 atm). At 900 °C the electrical conductivity is 1365 and 1491 S cm^− 1 in air for LSC40 and LSC15, respectively. A linear correlation between the electrical conductivity and the oxygen vacancy concentration was found for both samples. The mobility of the electron-holes was inversely proportional with the absolute temperature indicating a metallic type conductivity for LSC40. Using electrical conductivity relaxation the chemical diffusion coefficient of oxygen was determined. It was found that accurate values of the chemical diffusion coefficient could only be obtained using a sample with a porous surface coating. The porous surface coating increased the surface exchange reaction thereby unmasking the chemical diffusion coefficient. The ionic conductivity deduced from electrical conductivity relaxation was determined to be 0.45 S cm^− 1 and 0.01 S cm^− 1 at 1000 and 650 °C, respectively. The activation energy for the ionic conductivity at a constant vacancy concentration (δ = 0.125) was found to be 0.90 eV.     

Dielectric behaviour of La substituted BPZT ceramics

Here, we report dielectric behaviour of lanthanum substituted Ba_0.80Pb_0.20Ti_0.90Zr_0.10O₃ (BPZT) ceramics. The material series with compositional formula Ba_0.80−xLa_xPb_0.20Ti_0.90Zr_0.10O₃ (BLPZT) with x varying from 0 to 0.01 in the steps of 0.0025 was chosen for investigations. The material was synthesized by solid state reaction method. Reacted powder compacted in form of circular discs were sintered at 1325 °C. All the samples were subjected to X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and found to be single phase. Dielectric behaviour was studied as a function of frequency and temperature and Curie temperature (T_c) was determined. T_c was found to decrease with increasing x. The details are discussed and presented in this paper.     

Stoner-Wohlfarth-type behavior of a close-packed array of high-anisotropy hexaferrite nanoparticles

Magnetization and remagnetization processes in a close-packed nanodispersed barium hexaferrite powder sample in the magnetically stable state were analyzed. Reversibility effects were discussed in terms of interparticle interaction. Judging from the magnetization curve and the parameters characterizing remagnetization irreversibility, the sample under study is a model system of small Stoner-Wohlfarth particles.