Synthesis, structural and magnetic behavior studies of Zn-Al substituted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles

Abstract

A series of nano-sized Zn-Al substituted cobalt ferrite Co(1- x )Zn( x )Fe2- xAlxO4 with 0.0=x=1.0 have been synthesized by chemical co-precipitation technique. The XRD spectra revealed the single phase spinel structure of Co(1- x )Zn( x )Fe2- xAlxO4 with average size of nanoparticles are estimated to be 17-30 nm. These are small enough to achieve the suitable signal to noise ratio, which is important in the high-density recording media. The FTIR spectra show the characteristic of two strong absorption bands at 560-600 cm-1 corresponds to the intrinsic stretching vibrations of the metal at the tetrahedral site and lowest band is observed at 370-410 cm-1 corresponds to octahedral site. The crystalline structures of nanoparticles composite were characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM). The magnetic properties such as saturation magnetization, remanence magnetization, and coercivity were calculated from the hysteresis loops. Saturation magnetization were found to increase up to x = 0.4 while remanence magnetization and coercivity continuously decrease with increasing Zn-Al concentration. The stability in coercivity while increase in saturation magnetization confirms that the Co0.6Zn0.4Fe1.6Al0.4O4 ferrite sample is suitable for applications in high-density recording media.