Investigation of structural, optical, magnetic, and dielectric properties of calcium hexaferrite synthesized in presence of Azadirachta indica and Murraya koenigii leaves extract

Abstract

M-type calcium hexaferrite- CaFe12O19 (CaM) has been prepared in presence of Azadirachta indica, and Murraya koenigii leaves extracts, followed by calcination at 650 °C for 3h. It was observed that the presence of phytochemicals in both leaves extract plays a vital role in deciding the structural, optical, microstructural, magnetic, and dielectric properties of prepared CaM hexaferrites. Prepared samples were characterized using FT-IR, XRD, UV–Vis, SEM, VSM, and dielectric measurements. FTIR, UV– Vis, and antioxidant assay confirmed the presence of phenolic content and antioxidant property of plant extract. This further resulted in the formation of a pure hexagonal phase as revealed by the XRD analysis. The surface morphology of prepared ferrites modified through this greener route was illustrated by the spongy appearance of ferrites in SEM micrographs.The saturation magnetization for the CaM powder prepared using Murraya koenigii leaves extract is 11.78 Am2/kg, while that prepared from Azadirachta indica leaves extract is 3.56 Am2/kg. Both samples show a magnetically soft nature, with a multidomain structure. The energy bandgap was also observed to be 2.01 eV. Moreover, the calcium ferrite synthesized by Murraya koenigii leaves had ε’max ∼ 25 and that synthesized in presence of Azadirachta indica leaves had ε’max ∼ 200 at ∼20 Hz.