Effect of Ho3+ on structural and magnetic properties of the Sm3-xHoxFe5O12 ceramic system

Abstract

This work reports the effect of Ho3+ substitution and synthesis method on structural, morphological, and magnetic properties of the Sm3-xHoxFe5O12 (x = 0.0–1.0) produced by solid-state method and citrate reaction method. Structural characterization showed the suitable insertion of Ho3+ into dodecahedral sites, favoring the formation of the cubic structure and space-group Ia-3d (230). Obtained materials exhibited particle sizes less than 1.0 µm and of up to 4.5 µm for the samples obtained by the citrate and the solid-state reaction method. On the other hand, the magnetic analysis showed a ferrimagnetic behavior in the materials, which is attributable to the difference between the magnetic moments of Sm3+ and Ho3+. Thus, Ho3+ insertion in the host structure led to decreasing in the saturation magnetization and increasing in the coercive field. These results showed that Ho3+ insertion in the Sm3Fe5O12 ceramic allows its potential applications in antennas and high-frequency devices.