Sol–gel synthesis of Ce-substituted BaFe12O19

Ce-substituted BaFe12O19 (BaCexFe12–xO19, x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05) was prepared by citrate sol–gel method. The thermal decomposition process of precursor was investigated by TG-DSC. The phase composition of the BaCexFe12–xO19 was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRD) which reveals that the BaCexFe12–xO19 crystallizes in a hexagonal structure. The lattice parameter of BaCexFe12–xO19 increases slightly when Ce was substituted into BaFe12O19. The average crystallite size calculated from the XRD line broadening is about 30–33 nm and no intermediate phases are detected in the XRD patterns. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis indicates that the particles of samples obtained are the rod-like morphology.