Effect of nanoparticles on the magnetic properties of Mn–Zn soft ferrite

In this paper, the effect of nanostructures on the magnetic properties like the specific saturation magnetization (σS) and the coercivity (HC) for Mn0.4Zn0.6Fe2O4 ferrite prepared by the co-precipitation method has been presented. We have shown by means of X-ray diffraction that the resulting ferrite is made up of nanoparticles, and that the average size of these nanoparticles calculated with the Scherrer formula depends upon the sintering temperature. When the sintering temperature is increased from 500 to 900 °C, the average nanoparticle diameter varies from 19.3 to 36.4 nm. The nanoparticle phase is further confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Both results are found to be in good agreement. The magnetic properties are explained on the basis of the single-domain and multi-domain theory.