Synthesis and properties of single domain sphere-shaped barium hexa-ferrite nano powders via an ultrasonic-assisted co-precipitation route

•High quality powders were prepared by ultrasonic-assisted co-precipitation route.•Ultrasonic energy in co-precipitation altered particle sizes and shapes of ferrite.•The maximum saturation magnetization of the ferrite powders was as high as 57.9emu/g. To synthesize high quality barium hexa-ferrite nano powders, an ultrasonic-assisted co-precipitation method has been used and the influences of the ultrasonic technique on the particle morphologies and magnetic properties of the synthesized barium hexa-ferrite nano powders have been investigated. The results indicated that the introduction of ultrasonic energy into the co-precipitation process promoted the composition homogeneities of the co-precipitated precursors, minished their particle sizes, and exerted the additional surface barriers between the particles, which influenced both the phase formation and particle growth-up processes during the subsequent heating treatment and altered the particle sizes, size distributions and particle shapes of the final synthesized powders. The average particle sizes of the synthesized nano powders dramatically decreased from 210nm to about 100nm as the inputting ultrasonic power increased, while the size distribution became increasingly uniform except for a few of large particles existed as the inputting power approached to a high value. The magnetization at 1.4 T of the as-synthesized barium hexa-ferrite dramatically increased and approached to the highest value of 57.9emu/g due to the elimination of multi-domain particles, the alleviation of particle adhesion and the evolution of particle shape from flake to quasi-sphere as well as the uniform particle size distribution as the ultrasonic assistance was employed, and slightly decreased because of the coarsening in particle sizes.