A structural and mössbauer study of Y₃Fe₅O ₁₂ nanoparticles prepared with high energy ball milling and subsequent sintering

The influence of ball milling and subsequent sintering of a 3:5 molar mixture of Y₂O₃ and α-Fe₂O₃ on the formation of nanocrystalline Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ (YIG) particles is studied. Pre-milling the mixture for 100 h lowers the onset temperature at which the material forms to 900°C which is 200°C lower than that reported when a similar mixture of reactants was premilled for shorter times. A single-phased nanocrystalline Y₃Fe₅O ₁₂ phase develops as a sole product when the pre-milled mixture is heated at 1,000°C (12 h). This temperature is ~300-400°C lower than those used to prepare the material conventionally. The bulk and surface crystal structure of the nanoparticles is studied with X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.