Yttrium iron garnet, Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) powders were synthesized by mechanochemical processing (MCP) from different iron sources (FeO, Fe2O3 and Fe3O4) mixed with Y2O3, followed by a heat treatment. The aim of this work is to demonstrate that MCP followed by annealing at very low temperatures (as compared with the classic solid state reaction) can induce the formation of nanostructured YIG. The effect of iron source on final structure was also studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the synthesized powders. The precursors mixed in a stoichiometric ratio to obtain YIG were milled at room temperature in a shaker mixer mill with a ball:powder weight ratio of 10:1. A partial synthesis of YIG was achieved after 9 h of milling time by using the three sources of iron; however, a significant fraction of the product was the perovskite YFeO3. The largest yield of YIG was obtained by using FeO. In all cases a single garnet phase could only be completely obtained after an annealing process at 900?C, around 400?C lower than the typical temperatures to prepare the material by solid state reaction. An analysis of the microstrain and lattice parameters associated with peak displacements is discussed.
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