Tuning the magnetic and electric behavior of lithium ferrite using an eco-friendly pectin sol-gel route

Lithium ferrite (LiFe5O8) in the cubic crystal system is a very important and versatile material for several technological applications as it possesses very attractive electric and magnetic behaviors. Herein, we report an ecofriendly first approach sol-gel route, mediated by pectin, for the preparation of LiFe5O8. Pectin, a natural polysaccharide, was explored because it is a very attractive gelling agent to produce ceramic materials by the sol-gel method. The influence of the sintering temperature (800–1200 °C) applied on the pressed pellets, was evaluated by correlating the electric and magnetic properties with its structural and morphological characteristics. LiFe5O8 pellets sintered at 1000 and 1100 °C had the lowest dielectric losses and the most interesting dielectric behaviors in this regard, due to quasi-independence of the loss tangent through the temperature and frequency range studied. The magnetization, at 300 K, of LiFe5O8 monophasic pellets, sintered at 1100 and 1200 °C, are among the best values reported in the literature, 65 and 71 emu/g, respectively. Thus, the LiFe5O8 prepared by this sol-gel route shows particularly notable magnetic properties that can be explored for several applications.