Effects of Sm+3 and La+3 substitution on the structural, elastic, thermal, and magnetic properties of iron cobaltite for advanced applications
摘要
This study examines the structural, morphological, elastic, thermal, and magnetic properties of FeCo2O4 (FCO), FeSm0.01Co1.99O4 (Sm-FCO), and FeLa0.01Co1.99O4 (La-FCO) spinel ferrite powders synthesized via the sol-gel method. XRD analysis reveals a dominant cubic spinel phase, with secondary phases resulting from limited rare-earth solubility. In addition, doping with La and Sm induces lattice expansion and increased crystallite size. FESEM shows grain growth with rare-earth doping, while FTIR spectra indicate small shifts in M-O vibrational modes, with an additional band at ~ 650 cm-1 in Sm-FCO linked to a hexagonal Sm phase. Elastic and thermal analysis reveal lattice softening in Sm-FCO and enhancement in La-FCO. Room-temperature magnetic hysteresis loops were fitted with ferromagnetic (FM) and paramagnetic (PM) contributions. FCO and La-FCO samples show dominant FM behavior, with saturation magnetization of 46.6 emu/g and 22.7 emu/g, respectively. In contrast, Sm-FCO exhibits PM behavior and negligible saturation magnetization (0.059 emu/g), attributed to a secondary hexagonal Sm phase. The microwave resonance frequencies are X-band (8-12 GHz) for FCO and C-band (4-8 GHz) for La-FCO, highlighting their potential for high-frequency applications such as radar and satellite communications.
Graphical Abstract