Phase evaluation of Li+ substituted CoFe2O4 nanoparticles, their characterizations and magnetic properties

•Li+ ion substituted CoFe2O4.•Single phase cubic spinel structure changes with Li+ substitution.•Magnetization decreases whereas coercivity increases with increasing Li+.•Resistivity decreases with Li+ substitution.

Li+ substituted CoFe2O4 with the chemical formula Li3xCoFe2−xO4 were synthesized by sol–gel auto combustion method. The synthesized samples were annealed at 600 °C for 4 h. X-ray diffraction data were used to evaluate the structure of the prepared samples. Spinel ferrite phase of CoFe2O4 changes to ordered like lithium ferrite phase with increase in Li+ substitution. Lattice constant increases whereas particle size found to decrease with Li+ substitution. Infrared spectroscopy also confirmed the phase transition of CoFe2O4 after the incorporation of lithium ions. Substitution of Li+ ions for Fe3+ caused a decrease in the saturation magnetization from 69.59 emu/g to 47.71 emu/g and the coercivity increased from 647 Oe to 802 Oe. Resistivity and dielectric properties shows inverse relation to each other.