The effect of simultaneous addition of ethylene glycol and agarose on the structural and magnetic properties of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles prepared by the sol-gel auto-combustion method

• Published in: Journal of magnetism and magnetic materials 2019-12, Vol.492, p.165714, Article 165714
• Main Authors: Hashemi, Seyedeh Mansoureh, Hasani, Saeed, Jahanbani Ardakani, Khadijeh, Davar, Fatemeh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agarose; Cobalt ferrite; Cobalt ferrites; Coercivity; CoFe2O4; Combustion; Crystallites; Ethylene glycol; Field emission microscopy; Fourier transforms; Infrared spectroscopy; Magnetic properties; Magnetic saturation; Magnetism; Magnetometers; Morphology; Nanoparticles; Parameter estimation; Photomicrographs; Reagents; Rietveld refinement method; Scanning electron microscopy; Sensors; Sol-gel; Sol-gel processes; Synthesis; X-ray diffraction
• ISSN: 0304-8853; 1873-4766
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmmm.2019.165714

•Effect of ethylene glycol and agarose addition on the properties of cobalt ferrite.•Effect of adding these agents on the agglomeration of the nanoparticles.•Cation distribution between the tetrahedral and octahedral sites by Rietveld method. In this study, cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) nanoparticles were synthesized by a novel sol-gel auto-combustion in the simultaneous presence of ethylene glycol and agarose as complexing agents, and their effects on the structure, morphology, and magnetic properties of this ferrite were investigated. All synthesized nanoparticles were structurally and morphologically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) methods. The results confirmed that the single-phase spinel CoFe2O4 nanoparticles were obtained. Analysis of the XRD patterns was carried out by Rietveld refinement technique to estimate the particle size, lattice parameter, and the cation distribution between the tetrahedral and octahedral sites. The Rietveld refinement data revealed that the simultaneous presence of ethylene glycol and agarose reduced the average size of crystallites. Moreover, FE-SEM micrographs showed that the agglomeration of the nanoparticles was reduced by the addition of these agents. Magnetic characteristics of the synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The results revealed that the saturation magnetization and coercivity could simultaneously be increased by the proper addition of ethylene glycol and agarose, so that these magnetic properties can be used to design magnetic coding and sensing devices.