What question did this study set out to answer?

The research aims to investigate how substituting rare earth elements Sm and La affects the properties of iron cobaltite for potential applications.

May 28, 2026Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology0 citationsOpen Access

Effects of Sm+3 and La+3 substitution on the structural, elastic, thermal, and magnetic properties of iron cobaltite for advanced applications

ALAïcha Loucif JAJawza Sh Alnawmasi SASafia Alleg

Key Points

The research aims to investigate how substituting rare earth elements Sm and La affects the properties of iron cobaltite for potential applications.
Synthesized spinel ferrite powders using the sol-gel method.
Analyzed structural, elastic, thermal, and magnetic properties via XRD, FESEM, FTIR, and hysteresis loop measurements.
Compared properties of FeCo2O4, FeSm0.01Co1.99O4, and FeLa0.01Co1.99O4 samples.
Sm-FCO exhibited paramagnetic behavior with negligible saturation magnetization (0.059 emu/g), while FCO and La-FCO demonstrated ferromagnetic behavior with saturations of 46.6 emu/g and 22.7 emu/g, respectively.
Doping led to lattice expansion and increased crystallite size, particularly in Sm-FCO and La-FCO samples.
The microwave resonance frequencies were 8-12 GHz for FCO and 4-8 GHz for La-FCO, indicating their suitability for high-frequency applications.

Abstract

This study examines the structural, morphological, elastic, thermal, and magnetic properties of FeCo2O4 (FCO), FeSm0.01Co1.99O4 (Sm-FCO), and FeLa0.01Co1.99O4 (La-FCO) spinel ferrite powders synthesized via the sol-gel method. XRD analysis reveals a dominant cubic spinel phase, with secondary phases resulting from limited rare-earth solubility. In addition, doping with La and Sm induces lattice expansion and increased crystallite size. FESEM shows grain growth with rare-earth doping, while FTIR spectra indicate small shifts in M-O vibrational modes, with an additional band at ~ 650 cm-1 in Sm-FCO linked to a hexagonal Sm phase. Elastic and thermal analysis reveal lattice softening in Sm-FCO and enhancement in La-FCO. Room-temperature magnetic hysteresis loops were fitted with ferromagnetic (FM) and paramagnetic (PM) contributions. FCO and La-FCO samples show dominant FM behavior, with saturation magnetization of 46.6 emu/g and 22.7 emu/g, respectively. In contrast, Sm-FCO exhibits PM behavior and negligible saturation magnetization (0.059 emu/g), attributed to a secondary hexagonal Sm phase. The microwave resonance frequencies are X-band (8-12 GHz) for FCO and C-band (4-8 GHz) for La-FCO, highlighting their potential for high-frequency applications such as radar and satellite communications.

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