Controlled Synthesis and Ferrimagnetism of Homogeneous Hierarchical CoFe2O4 Particles

Uniform, large, spherical, hierarchical CoFe2O4 spinel particles have been successfully prepared by a modified polyol method using NaBH4 and NaOH, revealing controlled size, shape, and morphology with high crystallinity in a certain microscale range. Their inverse AB(2)O(4)-type crystal structure was intensively studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Using stock solutions of CoCl2 and FeCl3 precursors in 1:2 ratio, CoFe2O4 particles were formed well with high crystallinity in the best inverse spinel structure in space group Fd-3m. The fascinating ferrimagnetic and hysteretic properties of the as-prepared hierarchical CoFe2O4 spinel particles were investigated by vibrating-sample magnetometry (VSM) at room temperature (RT). The results confirm formation of hierarchical CoFe2O4 microscale particles with inverse-spinel AB(2)O(4)-type structure and high magnetization by modified polyol method with heat treatment.