Investigation and treatment of carbon pollution in LiZn ferrite ceramics prepared by spark plasma sintering

In this study, lithium–zinc ferrite (LZF) ceramics were prepared by spark plasma sintering. Problem of carbon pollution was effectively resolved by annealing decarburization, formation of BN-coated carbon paper, and formation of protective layer of different metal foils (Ti, Mo, W, and Ta). The effects of carbon pollution and different protective layers on microstructure and dielectric and magnetic properties of LZF ceramics were studied comprehensively. Results reveal that annealing decarburization and BN-coated carbon paper could significantly improve resistance and saturation magnetization (M s ) of LZF, while real part of dielectric constant (ε′) and dielectric loss (tanδ) were significantly reduced. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that all selected protective layers can provide good spinel-phase LZF ceramics. The utilization of metallic foil as protective layer can effectively reduce carburization, improve the resistance of LZF ceramics, and reduce ε′ and tanδ values. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy results reveal that cations with the highest valence state replace Fe 3+ at B-site. The use of metal foil protective layer leads to the infiltration of metal ions into LZF lattice, leading to the increase in the lattice constant and decrease in the M s value. This study deepens the understanding of carburization during SPS, providing a reference scheme for future applications.