Enhanced magnetic properties in Sm3+ substituted SrFe12O19

Abstract

M- type hexaferrite captivates researchers and industrialists for its diverse usage and applications in different fields such as permanent magnets, storage devices, recording media, radar absorbing materials and many more. In this work, Sm3+ substituted Strontium hexaferrite, Sr1-xSmxFe12O19 (x = 0, 0.05) is synthesized by using ethylene glycol aided sol-gel auto combustion technique. X-Ray Diffraction Technique is employed for the understanding of various structural features. Phase purity of the prepared samples is authenticated by performing Rietveld refinement method. All the studied samples crystallizes in hexagonal magneto-plumbite phase with P63/mmc space group. Crystallite sizes are determined using Scherrer equation. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy is used for morphological analysis. Average particle size decreases with Sm3+ substitution in comparison with parent one. Both field and temperature dependent magnetization measurements are accomplished for magnetic properties analysis. Hysteresis curves show coercivity (Hc) value increases more than two times and saturation magnetization (MS) decreases slightly as compared to parent sample which clearly indicates that the sample can be used as hard ferrites. M-T measurements are carried out in zero field cooled (ZFC) with a minimal applied field of 500 Oe. Both the sample shows transition temperature around 500 oC. Substituted sample also shows a prominent Hopkinson peak in comparison with parent sample.