Effect of Zn Substitution on the Characterization of Cobalt Ferrite Nano Particles Prepared Co-precipitation Method

Effect of Zn Substitution on the Characterization of Cobalt Ferrite Nano Particles Prepared Co-precipitation Method

Nano-crystalline zinc-substituted cobalt ferrite powders, Co_1-xZn_xFe₂O₄ (X=0.0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9 and 1.0), have been synthesized by the Co-precipitation method. The structural and magnetic properties of the products were determined and characterized in detail by X-ray diffraction (XRD), High Resolution -Transmission Electron Microscope (HR-TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). X-ray analysis showed that the samples were cubic spinel. The increase in zinc concentration resulted in an increase in the lattice constant, X-ray density, ionic radii, the distance between the magnetic ions and bond lengths on tetrahedral sites and octahedral sites of cubic spinel structure. The HR-TEM and XRD shows that crystallite size within the range of 6–24 nm. The FTIR measurements between 400 and 2000 cm^-1 confirmed the intrinsic cation vibrations of the spinel structure. The variation of saturation magnetization (Ms) value of the samples and Magnetic coercivity were studied. The magnetic measurements show that the saturation magnetization and coercivity decrease by increasing the zinc content. Furthermore, the results reveal that the sample with a chemical composition of Co_0.3 Zn_0.7Fe₂O₄ exhibits the super-paramagnetic behavior.