Study of structural phase transformation and hysteresis behavior of inverse-spinel α-ferrite nanoparticles synthesized by co-precipitation method

Substitution of cobalt (Co2+) ions in cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) with copper (Cu2+) and aluminum (Al3+) ions allows variations in their electric and magnetic properties which can be optimized for specific applications. In this article, synthesis of inverse-spinel Co1−xCuxFe2−xAlxO4 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.8) nanoparticles by substituting Cu2+ and Al3+ ions in CoFe2O4 via co-precipitation method is reported. By controlling copper and aluminum (Cu-Al) substituent ratio, the magnetic moment and coercivity of synthesized cobalt ferrite nanoparticles is optimized. The role of substituents on the structure, particle size, morphology, and magnetic properties of nano-crystalline ferrite is investigated. The Co1−xCuxFe2−xAlxO4 (0.0 ≤ x≤ 0.8) nanoparticles with crystallite size in the range of 23.1-26.5 nm are observed, 26.5 nm for x = 0.0-23.1 nm for x = 0.8. The inverse-spinel structure of synthesized Co1−xCuxFe2−xAlxO4 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.8) nano-particles is confirmed by characteristic vibrational bands at tetrahedral and octahedral sites using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A decreases in coercive field and magnetic moment is observed as Cu-Al contents are increased (x = 0.0-0.8). The positive anisotropy of synthesized particles Co1−xCuxFe2−xAlxO4 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.8) is obtained in the range 1.96 × 105 J/m3 for x = 0.0 to 0.29 × 105 J/m3 for x = 0.8.