Effect of heat treatment on the magnetic and magnetoelastic properties of cobalt ferrite

The influence of different heat treatments on the magnetic and magnetoelastic properties of highly magnetostrictive CoFe2O4 has been investigated. The first order cubic anisotropy coefficient, coercive field, magnetostriction and high strain sensitivity were observed to decrease as the heat treatment temperature increased. The saturation magnetization of the samples on the other hand increased with increase in heat treatment temperature. These changes were not accompanied by any observable changes in crystal structure or composition and are indicative of migration of Co2+ from the octahedral sites (B-sites) to the tetrahedral sites (A-sites) and Fe3+ from the A-sites to the B-sites of the spinel structure. Different distributions of the cations at the two distinct lattice sites can strongly affect the magnetic and magnetoelastic properties of these materials. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.