Synthesis of copper and lithium copper ferrites as high magnetization materials

The ferrite with composition Cu0.5Fe2.5O4 was heat treated in air and in reducing atmospheres to different temperatures within the solid solution region confirmed by dynamic high-temperature x-ray characterization. The samples were quenched in oil and air, and lattice parameter, Curie temperature, and saturation magnetization measurements were completed. The magnetization measurements for these samples showed a maximum 4 pi M-s of 0.7729 and 0.5426 T at 10 and 300 K, respectively. The cationic distribution based on the low-temperature 4 pi M-s measurements is (Cu0.24+Fe0.763+)(A)[Cu0.26+Fe1.743+](B)O-4 --> 4.9 mu(B). X-ray-pure Cu0.5Fe2.5O4 samples were also synthesized by slow cooling from the formation temperature to 900 degrees C in a reducing atmosphere. A temperature-P-O2 diagram for the stability of Cu0.5Fe2.5O4 under the conditions of the experiment was determined. Low-temperature 4 pi M-s measurements did not indicate an increase in the Cu+ A site occupancy for the samples cooled to 900 degrees C in a reducing environment above those samples that were quenched from high temperature. Curie temperatures for all Cu0.5Fe2.5O4 samples ranged from 348 to 369 degrees C. Lithium additions (0.1 mol/unit formula) to copper ferrite Li0.1Cu0.4Fe2.5O4 decreased the room-temperature 4 pi M-s values to 0.5234 T with a corresponding decrease in the 10 K measurements to 0.7047 T. From the low-temperature magnetization measurements, the distribution was (Cu0.15+Fe0.853+)(A)[Cu0.25+Li0.1+Fe1.653+](B)O-4 --> 4.48 mu(B).