Preparation and Characterization of FeAg Granular Alloys

Abstract

Fe10Ag90 granular alloys have been fabricated, using a sol-gel method, for a range of nitric acid concentrations in the start solution. The samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction and magnetization measurements. The average Fe particle sizes derived from X-ray diffraction are in the range 24-29 nm, indicating a large variation. The coercivity obtained from the hysteresis curve is two orders of magnitude larger that of pure iron in all the samples. Moreover, the hysteresis curves do not saturate, even in fields of up to 1 T. These observations indicate that the samples contain both superparamagnetic and blocked particles. A comparison between the coercive field and the average particle diameter, determined by the Sherrer's formula, is displayed in all acid concentrations.