Structure and magnetic properties of M-type barium ferrite co-doped with Sm and Nb prepared by solid-phase sintering

M-type barium ferrite with the formula Ba1-xSmxFe12-yNbyO19 (x = 0.00-0.10, y = 0.00-0.20), which was co-doped with Sm3+ and Nb5+ ions, was synthesized experimentally by a modified solid-phase reaction method. The crystal structure of samples was determined by X-ray diffraction, which confirmed that they were of high purity. The X-ray diffraction data were fitted with a full-spectrum correction using GSAS software. By Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the samples were observed to exhibit bands due to tetrahedral and octahedral sites at 598 cm-1 and 445 cm-1, respectively. The samples were examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy, which showed that they partly comprised hexagonal structures but mostly consisted of irregular structures with rounded edges. Characterization of the elemental contents of the samples by energy-dispersive spectroscopy revealed an increase in the contents of Sm and Nb and a decrease in the contents of Ba and Fe. The magnetic properties of the samples were examined using a vibrating sample magnetometer. The results showed that the saturation magnetization and residual magnetization of the samples decreased slightly with an increase in the contents of the dopants. The coercivity reached its maximum value, namely, 3367.53 Oe, when x = 0.04 and y = 0.08.