STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES AND MICROSTRUCTURE OF COBALT FERRITE PARTICLES SYNTHESIZED BY A SOL-GEL AUTO COMBUSTION METHOD

Synthesis and characterization of Cobalt ferrite powders by a sol gel combustion process is focused in the present work. The prepared precursors was calcined at 950° C for 4 hours in order to get cobalt ferrite powder. The effect of metal nitrates/citric acid ratio (referred as x) of CoFe₂O₄ on structural and micro-structural properties was investigated. The structural characterization on CoFe₂O₄ ferrite samples were carried out using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) techniques. Phase identification and crystallite size of calcined powder were determined using XRD analysis. The formation of the ferrite is confirmed by FTIR results. The morphology of prepared CoFe₂O₄ ferrite samples (with x = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0, where x is metal to citrate ratio) was studied using a scanning electron microscopy.