Influence of ultra-short cryomilling on the microstructural and magnetic properties of cobalt ferrite

The impact of ultra-short milling at liquid nitrogen temperatures on structural and magnetic properties of cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) powders has been explored for the first time. Cryomilling for only up to 9 min increases the coercivity of the isotropic powder from 139 to 306 kA/m (1.74-3.85 kOe) and results in its modifications comparable with milling for hours at room temperature. A thermal treatment of processed CoFe2O4 enables further optimization of powder magnetic properties and leads to a high value of energy product (13.5 kJ/m3) for the sample treated at 600 °C. Systematic studies, comprising analysis of structural and microstructural properties, based on synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy demonstrate the high efficiency of cryomilling in reduction of crystallite sizes and formation of lattice strain in the processed cobalt ferrite samples.