The purpose of this work was to sinter commercial barium hexaferrite ceramic in a microwave oven, aiming to obtain magnetic properties similar to those obtained by conventional sintering. Samples of barium hexaferrite were doped with chromium, isostatically pressed and sintered in a microwave oven and a conventional furnace for comparison. The sintered samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, bulk density, and magnetic hysteresis curves. Microwave sintering of the barium hexaferrite took less than 20% of the time spent in conventional sintering. The microwave sintered samples showed a somewhat smaller grain size, but their density and saturation magnetization were similar to those obtained by conventional sintering, indicating the promising potential of processing commercial barium hexaferrite by microwaves. The addition of chromium oxide to the barium hexaferrite samples improved their magnetic properties.
sintering; microwaves; barium hexaferrite; chromium
