Journal of Advanced Materials in Engineering (Esteghlal)

In this work, cobalt ferrite nanocrystallites were synthesized by air annealing of milled Co-Fe compound. Effect of annealing temperature on phase formation of cobalt ferrite and structural and magnetic properties of the product was studied. Analysis of annealed sample in 450 ^oC showed that around 46 weight percent of the specimen was changed to Co₂FeO₄. This value increased to 95 and 90% for 800 ^oC and 900 ^oC annealed samples respectively. Reduction of saturation magnetization under annealing was related to transformation of Co-Fe to cobalt ferrite. Increasing the value of saturation magnetization in 900 ^oC annealed sample compared to 800 ^oC one was attributed to decreased surface to volume ratio and crystallite size. The main reason of occurrence of maximum coercivity in 800  ^oC annealed sample was its low crystallite size.