Exchange-spring mechanism of soft and hard ferrite nanocomposites

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Exchange-spring behaviour of soft and hard ferrites was studied. • XRD patterns indicated soft and hard ferrites as fcc and hcp structure. • Hysteresis loops indicate wide difference in coercivity of soft and hard phases. • Nanocomposites produced convex hysteresis loop characteristic of single-phase. - Abstract: The paper reports exchange-spring soft and hard ferrite nanocomposites synthesized by chemical co-precipitation with or without the application of ultrasonic vibration. The composites contained BaFe₁₂O₁₉ as the hard phase and CoFe₂O₄/MgFe₂O₄ as the soft phase. X-ray diffraction patterns of the samples in the optimum calcined condition indicated the presence of soft ferrites as face-centred cubic (fcc) and hard ferrites as hexagonal close packed (hcp) structure respectively. Temperature dependence of magnetization in the range of 20–700 °C demonstrated distinct presence of soft and hard ferrites as magnetic phases which are characterized by wide difference in magnetic anisotropy and coercivity. Exchange-spring mechanism led these nanocomposite systems to exchange-coupled, which ultimately produced convex hysteresis loops characteristic of a single-phase permanent magnet. Fairly high value of coercivity and maximum energy product were observed for the samples in the optimum calcined conditions with a maximum applied field of 1600 kA/m (2 T)