Magnetic Properties of Aligned Co2Z Hexagonal Z-Ferrite Fibers

Hexaferrites have become massively important materials commercially and technologically, accounting for the bulk of total magnetic materials manufactured globally, with a multitude of uses and applications. There is currently increasing interest in composite materials containing hexaferrite fibers. It had been predicted that properties such as thermal, magnetic, electrical, and optical behavior will be enhanced in material in fibrous form, because a continuous fine fiber can be considered as effectively one dimensional, and does not behave as a homogeneously distributed solid. Aligned Co(2)Z (Ba3Co2Fe24O41) hexaferrite microfibers were found to have high magnetization values in all orientations and low coercivity. However, unlike the uniaxial M ferrite fibers previously reported, the ferroxplana Co(2)Z fibers do not show any significant alignment affects with direction of applied field. This is attributed to the microstructure of these fibers, in which the hexagonal plates are stacked and oriented parallel to the fiber axis, counteracting the expected effects of fiber alignment on measured magnetic saturation (M-s) values.