Home > Articles > Published articles > Novel Ba-hexaferrite structural variations stabilized on the nanoscale as building blocks for epitaxial bi-magnetic hard/soft sandwiched maghemite/hexaferrite/maghemite nanoplatelets with out-of-plane easy axis and enhanced magnetization |
Date: | 2017 |
Abstract: | Atomic-resolution scanning-transmission electron microscopy showed that barium hexaferrite (BHF) nanoplatelets display a distinct structure, which represents a novel structural variation of hexaferrites stabilized on the nanoscale. The structure can be presented in terms of two alternating structural blocks stacked across the nanoplatelet: a hexagonal (BaFeO) R block and a cubic (FeO) spinel S block. The structure of the BHF nanoplatelets comprises only two, or rarely three, R blocks and always terminates at the basal surfaces with the full S blocks. The structure of a vast majority of the nanoplatelets can be described with a SR∗S∗RS stacking order, corresponding to a BaFeO composition. The nanoplatelets display a large, uniaxial magnetic anisotropy with the easy axis perpendicular to the platelet, which is a crucial property enabling different novel applications based on aligning the nanoplatelets with applied magnetic fields. However, the BHF nanoplatelets exhibit a modest saturation magnetization, M, of just over 30 emu g. Given the cubic S block termination of the platelets, layers of maghemite, γ-FeO, (M), with a cubic spinel structure, can be easily grown epitaxially on the surfaces of the platelets, forming a sandwiched M/BHF/M platelet structure. The exchange-coupled composite nanoplatelets exhibit a remarkably uniform structure, with an enhanced M of more than 50 emu g while essentially maintaining the out-of-plane easy axis. The enhanced M could pave the way for their use in diverse platelet-based magnetic applications. |
Grants: | Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2014/SGR-1015 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MAT2016-77391-R Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad SEV-2013-0295 |
Rights: | Tots els drets reservats. |
Language: | Anglès |
Document: | Article ; recerca ; Versió sotmesa a revisió |
Subject: | Applied magnetic fields ; Atomic resolution ; Barium hexaferrites ; Cubic spinel structure ; Magnetic applications ; Novel applications ; Structural variations ; Uniaxial magnetic anisotropy |
Published in: | Nanoscale, Vol. 9, Issue 44 (November 2017) , p. 17551-17560, ISSN 2040-3372 |
Preprint 30 p, 2.6 MB |