Structural and magnetic properties of Co1−xZnxFe2O4 nanorods prepared by the solvothermal annealing method

Co1−xZnxFe2O4 (0.1≤x≤0.9) nanorods have been prepared by the thermal decomposition of the corresponding oxalate precursor, which was synthesized by the template-, surfactant-free solvothermal method. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The obtained Co1−xZnxFe2O4 (0.1≤x≤0.9) nanorods were built by many nanoparticles with average sizes around 20 nm to form one-dimensional arrays. Vibrating sample magnetometry measurements show that the coercivity of the ferrite nanorods decreases with increasing Zn content, whereas the specific saturation magnetization initially increases and then decreases with the increase of Zn content. The maximum saturation magnetization value of the as-prepared sample (Co0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4) reaches 43.0 emu g−1.