Microstructural and magnetic properties of microwave synthesized La-Sr-Mn-O: ferrite nanocomposites

Abstract

Microwave assisted synthesis was carried out for the preparation of 50 mol % La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO): 50 mol % ferrite [soft NiFe2O4 (NF) and hard CoFe2O4 (CF)] nanocomposites using kitchen microwave oven. Different characterization techniques such as XRD, SEM, density and M-H loop have been used to study the properties of these composites. X-ray diffraction confirms the presence of two phases (LSMO and NF/CF) without any impurities. The crystallite size of these two phases is found to be around 40 nm. LSMO and ferrite phases are uniformly distributed with nearly spherical morphology as observed from the back-scattered SEM micrographs. Composite of LSMO: CF indicated higher saturation magnetization (45 emu/g) as well as higher coercivity (300 Oe) and remanent magnetization (6.3 emu/g) as compared to LSMO: NF composites.