Radiation-thermal method for lithium-zinc ferrite ceramics manufacturing

The structural and magnetic properties of lithium-zinc ferrite ceramics of Li_0.4Fe_2.4Zn_0.2O₄ composition, which was obtained under complex high-energy action based on the use of mechanical activation of Fe₂O₃-Li₂CO₃-ZnO initial reagents mixture in AGO-2C planetary mill and subsequent its heating to a sintering temperature of 1050 °C for 140 min by ELV-6 continuous electrons beam with an electron energy of 1.4 MeV, were investigated. X-ray phase analysis showed a broadening of diffraction peaks due to the decrease in the crystallite sizes and the increase in the values of microdeformation as a result of mechanical milling. It was established that preliminary mechanical activation of the initial reagents mixture in a planetary mill allows not only to accelerate the synthesis of ferrite materials, but also to combine the both technological stages of synthesis and sintering in one stage of radiation-thermal treatment, consisting in a heating of press-billets by a high-energy electron beam to a sintering temperature. Lithium-zinc ferrite ceramics, obtained by the radiation-thermal method, is characterized by high density and low porosity as well as high values of the specific magnetization and the Curie temperature.