Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) induced modification of optical and magnetic properties of M-type nickel doped barium hexaferrite

In the present study, a heterostructure of Ni doped M-type hexaferrite i.e., BaNi0.2Fe11.8O19 (BNFO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) has been prepared to understand its effect on the optical and magnetic properties of BNFO. Here, the preparation of both the components was carried out through sol-gel (followed by heat treatment) and modified Hummer's method, respectively. The confirmation of phase formation was confirmed with XRD results and spectroscopic techniques (FTIR and Raman) were used to monitor the structural variation occurred as a result of attachment of BNFO and RGO. Further, vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and absorbance spectroscopy (UV-visible) were carried out to understand the effect of attachment. VSM study suggested the decrement of saturation magnetization, coercivity, and retentivity as a result of RGO addition in BNFO which might be associated to the soft magnetic characteristics of RGO. While, such synergistic heterojunction induced excellent visible absorption of prepared samples enabling its applicability in optical devices.