Structural and Magnetic Properties of Nano-structured Eu3+ Substituted M-Type Hexaferrites Synthesized by Sol-Gel Auto-combustion Technique

Nano-structured M-type hexaferrites having the nominal composition Sr0.8Ca0.2Eu (x) Fe12-x O-19 (x=0.0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25) have been synthesized by a sol-gel auto-combustion technique. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of rare-earth Eu3+ ions substitution at Fe3+ site on the structural and magnetic properties of M-type hexaferrites that might have not been previously explored especially using the sol-gel auto-combustion technique. The samples have been characterized by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The XRD analysis confirms the formation of single M-type hexaferrite phase. The ratio 'c/a' lies in the expected range of 3.946-3.951 for M-type hexaferrites phase. The crystallite size was found to be in the range of 15-45 nm, which is sufficient to obtain the suitable signal to noise ratio in the high density recording media. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis exhibits the morphology of grains to be hexagonal platelet. The values of remanence (M (r) ) and maximum magnetization (M) lie in the range 31-68 emu/g and 47-90 emu/g, respectively. The coercivity (H (c) ) values lie in the range of 2412-4046 Oe and enhancement in the coercivity may be due to increase in the shape anisotropy. The magnetic properties such as coercivity (H (c) ), magnetization (M), and retentivity (M (r) ) make the synthesized materials useful for applications in the recording media.