Synthesis and Characterization of Zirconium Substituted Cobalt Ferrite Nanopowders

Nanocrystalline ferrites; CoFe₂O₄ (CFO) and CoFe₁.₉Zr₀.₁O₄ (CFZO) have been synthesized through chemical coprecipitation method. The role played by the zirconium ions in improving the magnetic and structural properties is analyzed. X-ray diffraction revealed a single-phase cubic spinel structure for both materials, where the crystallite size increases and the lattice parameter decreases with substitution of Zr. The average sizes of the nanoparticles are estimated to be 16-19 nm. These sizes are small enough to achieve the suitable signal to noise ratio in the high density recording media. The increase in the saturation magnetization with the substitution of Zr suggests the preferential occupation of Zr⁴⁺ ions in the tetrahedral sites. A decrease in the coercivity values indicates the reduction of magneto-crystalline anisotropy. In the present study the investigated spinel ferrites can be used also in recoding media due to the large value of coercivity 1000 Oe which is comparable to those of hard magnetic materials.