Mn-Zn Ferrite as Recycled Material Resource Based on Iron Oxide Suitable to Functional Green Devices

Abstract

Today manufacturing stages in electronic device industry of wide-scale production can be restricted due to the high costs resulting from energy consumption, the use of organic solvents, production of hazardous intermediates, and formation of waste products leading to environmental pollution and several biological risks which damage society’s ability to sustain the planet for future generations. As recycled material resource based on iron oxide, the Mn-Zn ferrite is an interesting candidate. In the last decades, this material has been manufactured by using ceramic process technologies to design magnetic devices as components useful in switching mode electronic systems. However, these processing technologies have generated negative environmental impact as emission of toxic gases and higher use of energy resources. The Mn-Zn ferrites employed in consumer electronics deteriorate the earth when its final placement as waste in landfills occurs. Then, attitudes in resource recovery should allow the recycling of the materials from electronic waste to converting those to new products; therefore, uncommon physical properties from shredding processes are available when bulk ferrites are converted to foil ferrites. This chapter provides a comprehensive study on recyclability of the Mn-Zn ferrites, exploring both structure and conduction properties in foil ferrites to use their nonlinear behavior in functional green devices.