Enhancement on the exchange coupling behavior of SrCo0.02Zr0.02Fe11.96O19/MFe2O4 (M = Co, Ni, Cu, Mn and Zn) as hard/soft magnetic nanocomposites

Abstract Hard/soft SrCo0.02Zr0.02Fe11.96O19/MFe2O4 (M = Ni, Co, Cu, Mn and Zn) nanocomposites have been fabricated efficiently via one-pot sol-gel combustion route. The influence of different type of spinel were examined by XRD (X-ray diffraction), SEM – TEM (scanning and transmission electron microscopies) systems and VSM (vibrating sample magnetometer). The XRD investigation of Hard/soft nanocomposites revealed the tailoring between hexaferrite and spinel ferrite phases. Magnetization measurements (M vs. H) were performed at room (T = 300 K) and low temperature (T = 10 K) and diverse magnetic parameters comprising Ms (saturation magnetization), Mr (remanence), coercivity (Hc), and so on were determined. Smooth M vs. H curves and single peaks in dM/dH vs. H plots were observed for various prepared nanocomposites. The Henkel plots and maximum energy products were also determined and analyzed. Various prepared hard/soft nanocomposites indicated relatively high values of diverse magnetic parameters. Diverse findings disclosed the incidence of exchange-coupling spring behavior among various soft and hard magnetic phases. Measurements of ZFC-FC magnetizations showed the existence of a peak temperature values, which are largely ascribed to competition between the motion of magnetic domain walls and thermal activations. It is revealed that one-pot sol-gel combustion route is valuable to attain strong exchange coupling among hard and soft nanoparticle phases grown near to each other. The obtained findings indicated that these nanocomposites are promising candidates for numerous practical applications.