Effects of Lanthanum on Structural and Magnetic Properties of Sr{sub 1−x}La{sub (2/3)x}Fe{sub 12}O{sub 19} Compounds: Theoretical and Experimental Results
Pre-reacted powders of M-type strontium hexaferrites with chemical composition Sr{sub 1−x}La{sub (2/3)x}Fe{sub 12}O{sub 19} (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 0.5, 0.6) were obtained from the conventional solid state reaction method. The final consolidation of these powders were performed by using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. The influence of the La{sup 3+} content on the crystal structure and the magnetic properties of the samples were investigated firstly under the framework of a phenomenological model that predicted the cation substitution/distribution in the Sr and/or Fe sites. The theoretical results indicated that La{sup 3+} ion mostly occupies the Sr{sup 2+} site. It was also found that as La content increased, a certain amount of Fe{sup 2+} ions appear as a consequence of the Fe{sup 3+} to Fe{sup 2+} reduction. However, the Fe{sup 2+} occupied preferably the 12k and 4f1 iron sites. The magnetic properties of the obtained samples were assessed by measurements performed in a vibrating sample magnetometer. Also, X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements were presented as a complementary characterization. We have found that the magnetic properties of the samples degraded as the La{sup 3+} content increased and the increase of the Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} impurity phase.