Synthesis of cobalt ferrite nano-particles and their magnetic characterization

► Cobalt ferrite nano-particles were synthesized with average crystallite size between 11 and 45 nm. ► The size of the particles are dependent on both the reaction and annealing temperatures. ► The dependence of saturation magnetization on particle size was explained in view of surface effects. ► Coercivity was found to exhibit non-monotonic behavior with particle size.