Valence control of ce Ions in cerium-substituted yttrium iron garnet

Cerium-substituted yttrium iron garnet (CexY3−xFe5O12, Ce: YIG) was prepared via coprecipitation. The structure, morphology, valence state and constituent of Ce ions were investigated respectively. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that Ce: YIG was of single cubic YIG phase. The result of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicates the Ce ions in Ce: YIG were in the state of trivalence. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) demonstrates the conglobation of Ce: YIG particles about 0.2μm scale. The magnetic properties were studied by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and the result exhibits that substitution of Ce3+ changes the magnetic parameters of YIG. The effects of doping content of Ce ions and synthesis temperature on valence control were discussed in detail.