Structural, Morphological, and Magnetic Properties of Cobalt-Doped Nickel Ferrite Nanoparticles

Abstract

A series of cobalt-doped nickel ferrite nanoparticles, Cox Ni1−xFe2O4 (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8), was synthesized by hydrothermal method at low temperature, and its structural, morphological, and magnetic properties have been examined. The structural properties were studied from X-ray diffraction with crystallite size 18.9 to 24.09 nm. The presence of Co, Ni, Fe, and oxygen as well as purity of the synthesized nanoparticles was confirmed by energy-dispersive spectrum (EDS). The study of morphology carried out with field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) reveals that the prepared nanoparticles are oriented as non-porous and stone-like and observed strong agglomeration between the particles. The magnetic properties such as saturation magnetization, coercivity, and retentivity have been calculated by vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM); saturation magnetization and remanence magnetization from M-H loop suggested that these materials are applicable for the memory device applications, and low coercive field and S-shaped hysteresis revealed just about superparamagnetic nature.