Comparison of the Sol-gel Method with the Coprecipitation Technique for Preparation of Hexagonal Barium Ferrite

Hexagonal barium ferrite BaFe12O19 particles were prepared by sol-gel and coprecipitation methods, respectively. The composition of the so-obtained materials was investigated by means of XRD. By the sol-gel method, non-anticipated intermediate crystalline phases, such as γ-Fe2O3, α-Fe2O3, BaCO3, and BaFe2O4etc., were formed with the delay of the formation of BaFe12O19. The formation of single phase BaFe12O19 required calcination at 850 °C for 4 h. On the other hand, using coprecipitation technique, amorphous hydroxide precursor was directly transferred into BaFe12O19 almost without the formation of intermediate crystalline phases. BaFe12O19 was prepared by calcining at 700 °C for 3 h. The results were confirmed by ESEM and VSM analyses. Based on the already reported results and the observed results in this study, it can be concluded that the coprecipitaion technique is easier to control than the sol-gel method for preparation of BaFe12O19 at a low temperature.