Highly sinterable cobalt ferrite particles prepared by a modified solution combustion synthesis

Abstract

Highly sinterable CoFe2O4 particles were prepared by a modified solution combustion synthesis, starting from a stoichiometric mixture of cobalt acetate (instead of cobalt nitrate), iron nitrate and 5-aminotetrazole. The resulted cobalt ferrite powder had large surface area (44m2/g), small crystallite size (11nm) and a saturation magnetization of 38.9Am2/kg. CoFe2O4 pellets sintered at 1100°C for 2h developed a fine compact microstructure, reaching 99% of the theoretical density. After sintering, the saturation magnetization increased to 71.3Am2/kg whilst the coercivity decreased to 21.8kA/m.