Solution combustion synthesis of CoFe2O4 powders using mixture of CTAB and glycine fuels

Abstract

Cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) powders were synthesized by solution combustion method using a mixture of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and glycine fuels. The combustion behavior, phase evolution, microstructure, specific surface area, and magnetic properties were investigated by thermal analysis, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, nitrogen adsorption–desorption, electron microscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry techniques. Single-phase CoFe2O4 powders were achieved by mixing of CTAB and glycine fuels, regardless of fuel content, while the impurity Co3O4 and α-Fe2O3 phases together with CoFe2O4 phase were disappeared at higher amounts of CTAB fuel. Bulky microstructure of the as-combusted powders using CTAB fuel with specific surface area of 43 m2/g was transformed to foamy and porous structure (196 m2/g) by means of the mixture of CTAB and glycine fuels. Furthermore, the solution combusted CoFe2O4 powders using mixture of CTAB and glycine fuels exhibited the higher saturation magnetization due to their higher crystallinity and particle size.