Study of magnetization of ferrite with Rare Earth and Ca substitutions

Abstract

This research synthesized nano-ferrite with Rare Earth substitution using the co-precipitation method. The main goal was to produce nanometer-sized RE/Ca-(Fe3O4) ferrite utilizing sand as the primary raw material. This research also sought to generate public interest in natural resources to maximize their benefits. Sand is abundantly available in Indonesia and is commonly used in the production of concrete, bricks, and roads. To obtain nanometer-scale particles, the co-precipitation method was employed in this study. Initially, iron sand was dissolved in HCl, stirred until homogeneous, filtered and NH4OH was added. The mixture was then precipitated, filtered and washed through a repetitive process until the nano-ferrite particles were obtained. To enhance the magnetic properties, rare earth elements (RE) were introduced during the ferrite formation. The results of FTIR characterization revealed absorbance at 1000, 1400, 1600 and 3400 cm-1, indicating vibrations caused by stretching vibrations of the metal-oxygen tetrahedral band, stretching and HOH vibrations of anti-symmetrical NO stretching vibrations arising from the nitrate group still present in the sample. XRD characterization demonstrated a spectrum predominantly composed of RE/Ca-(Fe3O4) with a purity exceeding 90%, along with the detection of SiO2 impurities. Substitution of Gd, GdNd, and Nd results in an increase in lattice constant values for the a, and b-axis, however, decrease for c-axis sequentially. Also, the substitution of Gd, GdNd, and Nd results in an increase in the coercivity and remanence magnetization values sequentially. The average particle size obtained was 150 nm.