Impact of Ho substitution on structure, magnetic and electromagnetic properties hard-soft nanocomposites

Abstract

This work presented the effect of Ho substitution on magnetic and electrodynamic properties of hard-soft SrBaHoFeO@NiFeO (x ≤ 0.06) nanocomposites (H/S Ho → SBFeO@NFO NCs) which were produced through one-pot citrate sol–gel method. The structure and morphology were explored using X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). By scrutinizing hysteresis curves at temperatures of 300 K (Room temperature, RT) and 10 K, the magnetic characteristics of H/S Ho → SBFeO@NFO (x ≤ 0.06) NCs have been investigated. These materials display smooth, open hysteresis loops at both temperatures, indicating their ferrimagnetic nature and highlighting the presence of exchange-coupling interactions within the nanocomposites. The SQR (squareness ratio) values, below 0.5 at both high and low temperatures, indicate a multi-domain structure in the H/S Ho → SBFeO@NFO (x ≤ 0.06) NCs. Magnetic parameters demonstrate fluctuations with growing Ho content. The introduction of Ho ions notably reduce the coercivity of the undoped H/S Ho → SBFeO@NFO (x ≤ 0.06) NCs. Saturation magnetization (M) and magnetic moment show similarity between undoped and Ho-doped nanocomposites at all concentrations, except for x = 0.06, where a considerable decrease occurred at both temperatures. Our findings propose that by controlling the concentration of Ho ions, the magnetic properties of H/S Ho → SBFeO@NFO NCs can be precisely adjusted. Electromagnetic properties of the H/S Ho → SBFeO@NFO NCs were investigated in the range 33–50 GHz. Frequency dispersions of the real/imaginary parts of permittivity and permeability were determined from S11 to S21 parameters. RL coefficient demonstrated intensive electromagnetic absorption with average level −16…−23 dB in this frequency range that corresponded to the absorption of the natural media.