Effect of Powder Grain Size on Microstructure and Magnetic Properties of Hexagonal Barium Ferrite Ceramic

Compact hexagonal barium ferrite (BaFe12O19, BaM) ceramics with excellent magnetic properties have been prepared from powder with the optimal grain size. The dependence of the microstructure and magnetic properties of the ceramics on powder grain size was studied in detail. Single-phase hexagonal barium ferrite powder with grain size of 177 nm, 256 nm, 327 nm, and 454 nm was obtained by calcination under different conditions. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that 327-nm powder was beneficial for obtaining homogeneous grain size and compact ceramic. In addition, magnetic hysteresis loops and complex permeability spectra demonstrated that the highest saturation magnetization (67.2 emu/g) and real part of the permeability (1.11) at 1 GHz were also obtained using powder with grain size of 327 nm. This relationship between the powder grain size and the properties of the resulting BaM ceramic could be significant for development of microwave devices.