The effects of milling SrFe12O19 in air and vacuum for 800 h have been
investigated by X-ray diffraction and Mossbauer effect spectroscopy m
easurements. Different levels of structural disorder along with partia
l decomposition of SrFe12O19 to nanocrystalline grains of haematite, a
lpha-Fe2O3, and magnetite, Fe3O4, are obtained for the air and vacuum
milling. Superparamagnetic relaxation effects due to the fine particle
s produced on milling are observed for a significant fraction (similar
to 10% air milled, similar to 30% vacuum milled) of the milled sample
s. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.