Controlling magnetic and surface properties of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles: A comparison of co-precipitation and solvothermal synthesis methods

Abstract

Cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) nanoparticles have been synthesized using two different wet-chemical methods: co-precipitation and solvothermal. Mesoporous cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were prepared using the co-precipitation method with 4, 6, and 8 wt% of Pluronic P123 and with the solvothermal method with 10, 15, and 20 wt% of PEG-4000. X-ray diffractometry confirmed the formation of a single-phase spinel structure. The saturation magnetization of the nanoparticles increased from 48 to 64 emu/g as the P123 concentration increased from 4 to 8 % wt, and decreased from 72 to 62 emu/g as the PEG-4000 concentration increased from 10 to 20 % wt. Generally, the samples synthesized by the solvothermal method had a higher specific surface area than those prepared by the co-precipitation method. In comparison to other samples, the 10 % PEG-4000 sample had the highest specific surface area and showed the highest level of dye degradation (93 %). The findings demonstrated that the concentration of Pluronic P123 and PEG-4000 had an impact on the saturation magnetization and specific surface area of the nanoparticles.