Structure and magnetism of granular Fe–Al2O3

Abstract The structural and magnetic properties of granular Fe–Al 2 O 3 nanocomposite obtained starting from sol–gel processing are presented. Samples with nominal Fe content ranging from 20% to 62% in volume were prepared. The conversion of Fe oxides into metallic Fe was obtained by calcination at 800°C followed by reduction at 600°C for 2 h in H 2 atmosphere. After reduction, our results indicated up to 78% α-Fe, preserving the mean diameter of the metallic nanoparticles between 50 and 80 nm, ∼16% Fe oxides and ∼7% interstitial Fe 2+ and substitutional Fe 3+ cations in the Al 2 O 3 lattice. Vibrating sample magnetometry at 300 K resulted in coercivity between 400 and 630 Oe and saturation magnetization between 40 and 134 emu/g. From transport measurements, the highest magnetoresistance, close to 2% at room temperature, was observed for samples with 25% α-Fe and 51 vol% total Fe.