Synthesis, structure and magnetic properties of Al-YIG nanoparticles prepared via modified sol-gel route

Abstract

Garnet nanoparticles of composition Y3AlxFe5−xO12 (x=0.0, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9) have been synthesized using a modified sol-gel method. The X-ray diffraction results showed the single-phase garnet nanoparticles. The decrease in crystallite size (55.50 to 62.72 nm) and lattice constant (12.31 to 12.24 Å) was found with increasing aluminium content in the YIG. FTIR spectra revealed the metal-oxygen vibrations in tetrahedral and octahedral sites and hence confirmed the garnet phase. The decrease in saturation and remnant magnetization was observed due to the addition of paramagnetic aluminium ions. SEM study showed the agglomerated and branched particles with an average branch length of 0.263 µm.