Tuning the structural, magnetic and multiferroic properties of Sm3+ substituted barium hexaferrites BaFe12-xSmxO19 nanoceramics

Abstract M- Type hexagonal ferrites BaFe12-xSmxO19 with (x = 0.0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0) is prepared using citrate precursor based sol–gel method. The X-ray diffraction pattern confirms phase purity of the samples. All samples possessed hexagonal crystal symmetry belonging to P63/mmc space group. The Williamson-Hall plot is utilized for calculating crystallite size and lattice strain present in prepared samples. The strain reaches to a maximum value 1.58 × 10−3 for BaFe11Sm1O19. W-H plot calculations are supported by SEM morphological analysis. Lattice parameters shows noticeable increments due to induced lattice strains in samples. FTIR spectral analysis is in agreement with the XRD results. The magnetic parameters of prepared samples gets refined with samarium substitution with appreciable Magnetization 42.62–63.05 emu/g and Retentivity 19.73–29.26 emu/g. Coercivity value increased from 303.5 to 2265.1 Gauss. The Magnetocrystalline anisotropy (K1) is calculated using Law of Approach to Saturation, which ranges from 1.37 to 4.24 × 106 erg/cm3. Further the ferroelectric properties are evidently observed in Sm3+ doped BaFe12-xSmxO19 nanoceramics, with Remanance polarization (Pr) and Coercive polarization (Pc) of 6.1 μC/cm2 and 6.5 kV/m respectively. The FeO6 octahedron in its perovskite-like hexagonal unit cell and off centering of Fe3+ from the center of octahedron is suggested to generate polarization in doped samples. Therefore a correlation between lattice strain mediated structural, magnetic and multiferroic properties enrichment with varying samarium content in hexaferrite lattices is explored in this article.