Thermogravimetric analysis, Rietveld refinement, and atomic force micrography of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles exposed to 100 kGy Co60 γ-rays

Abstract

We have investigated the thermogravimetric temperature (TGA) of magnetic cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (CoFe2O4) synthesized using a low-temperature sol–gel technique and a gamma irradiation dose of up to 100 kGy in a gamma chamber to create lattice defects inside the crystalline structure. The Rietveld refinement was performed with the help of advanced graphical tools which leads to the in-depth identification of Bragg’s reflections belonging to the space group Fd3m by evaluating the profile factor (Rp), weighted profile factor (Rwp), and the expected R-factor (Rexp) parameter. Eventually, the topographic qualities of the samples were investigated using atomic force micrography (AFM), which focused on metal ion dispersion and surface roughness and was aided by scanning electron micrography (SEM images). The Raman spectra have shown the active modes Eg, 3T2g, and A1g near 250.53; 324.36; and 765.90 respectively. The UV–Vis spectroscopic absorption of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles was reported at ∼ 208.2 Å, and the bandgap was reported to be 3.82 eV with the help of Tauc’s plot; Kubelka-Munk function F(R). The current study presents a complete X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) analysis that may aid in the investigation of intra-atomic and molecular defects generated by 100 kGy gamma irradiation.