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Materials scientists have proposed a method for the rapid production of epsilon iron oxide and revealed its potential for use in advanced communications equipment.
The excellent magnetic properties of epsilon iron oxide make it one of the most popular materials, such as for durable magnetic recording and the upcoming 6G generation communication equipment.
The research has been published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry C, a journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Iron (III) oxide is one of the most abundant oxides on earth, and it mainly exists in the form of hematite minerals (or α-Fe2O3). Maghemite (or gamma variant, γ-Fe2O3) is another common and stable variant. Hematite is generally used as a red pigment in industry, and maghemite is used as a magnetic recording medium.
The two variants differ in crystal structure (γ-iron oxide has cubic isomorphism and α-iron oxide has hexagonal isomorphism) and magnetic properties.
In addition to these forms of iron (III) oxide, there are more unusual modifications, such as epsilon-, zeta-, β- and even glass.
Among them, ε-Fe2O3 is the most attractive phase. This modification has a very high coercivity (the material's potential to resist external magnetic fields).
At room temperature, the strength reaches 20 kOe, which is similar to the parameters of magnets based on expensive rare earth elements. The material also absorbs electromagnetic radiation in the Asia-Pacific Hertz frequency range (100 to 300 GHz) through the natural ferromagnetic resonance effect.
The frequency of this resonance is the main standard for materials used in wireless communication devices-for example, the 5G standard uses tens of gigahertz, and the 4G standard uses megahertz.
The Asia-Pacific Hertz range may be used as the working range of the sixth-generation (6G) wireless technology, which is currently preparing to be actively introduced into people’s lives from the early 2030s.
The resulting material is suitable for manufacturing absorber circuits or conversion units of such frequencies. For example, if you use composite ε-Fe2O3 nano powder, it can be made into a coating that absorbs electromagnetic waves, thereby protecting the room from external signals and shielding the signals from external interception. Even ε-Fe2O3 can be used in 6G receiving equipment.
Epsilon iron oxide is a very difficult to obtain and rare form of iron oxide. Currently, its creation volume is very small, and the process itself takes up to a month. This definitely excludes its wide application.
Researchers have developed a new technology to accelerate the synthesis of epsilon iron oxide, shorten the synthesis time to one day (in other words, perform a complete cycle more than 30 times faster), and increase the number of products obtained.
The new method is cost-effective, can be easily replicated, and can be easily implemented in the industry. The materials needed for synthesis-silicon and iron-are one of the most widely distributed elements on the earth.
Although the ε-iron oxide phase was obtained in pure form earlier, in 2004, due to the complexity of its synthesis, it still did not find industrial applications, such as as a magnetic recording medium. We have managed to greatly simplify this technology.
Evgeny Gorbachev, first author of the study, PhD student in the Department of Materials Science, Moscow State University
In order to successfully apply materials with record-breaking properties, their basic physical properties should be studied. The lack of detailed research may result in ignoring the material for several years, as has happened many times in the history of science.
It was the materials scientists of Moscow State University who produced this compound, and MIPT physicists thoroughly studied it and made this development a success.
The material with such a high ferromagnetic resonance frequency has huge practical application potential. Today, terahertz technology is booming: it is the Internet of Things, it is ultra-high-speed communication, it is more narrow scientific equipment, and it is the next generation of medical technology.
Dr. Liudmila Alyabyeva, PhD, Senior Researcher, MIPT Terahertz Spectroscopy Laboratory
Dr. Alyabyeva added: “Although last year’s very popular 5G standard operated at frequencies of tens of GHz, our materials are opening the door to higher frequencies (hundreds of GHz), which means that we are already dealing with 6G and higher. Standards. Now it’s the engineer’s turn. We are happy to share information with them and look forward to being able to hold a 6G phone in our hands."
The terahertz research was conducted in the MIPT laboratory of terahertz spectroscopy.
Gorbachev, E., etc. (2021) Adjust the particle size, natural ferromagnetic resonance frequency and magnetic properties of ε-Fe2O3 nanoparticles prepared by the fast sol-gel method. Journal of Materials Chemistry C. doi.org/10.1039/D1TC01242H.
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