Effect of Zn2+-Sn4+ co-substitution on structural and magnetic properties of SrFe12-2xZnxSnxO19 (x = 0–2) M-type strontium ferrite

We studied the structure and magnetic properties of Zn2+-Sn4+ co-substituted M-type strontium ferrite by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformer infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer (SQUID-VSM). The lattice constants a and c increase monotonically with increasing substitution x, which is primarily attributed to the fact that the ionic radii of Zn2+ and Sn4+ are larger than those of Fe3+. The room temperature magnetic measurement results indicate that the saturation magnetization (Ms) can reach the maximum value Ms = 77 emu/g when x = 0.25, originating from the occupation of Zn2+ and Sn4+ in the spin-down 4f1 and 4f2 sites, respectively. Next, when x ≥ 0.5, the nonmagnetic Zn2+ and Sn4+ weaken the superexchange interaction, resulting in a monotonic decrease in saturation magnetization and coercivity. The sample with x = 0.25 has the optimum magnetic properties of Ms = 77 emu/g, Mr = 35 emu/g and Hc = 2203 Oe, and it is a promising candidate for high-density magnetic recording materials.