Effects of heat treatment on characteristics of Zn substituted Co/Mn ferrite nanoparticles

Abstract

Glycine assisted self-combustion method resulted in fabrication of cobalt-manganese ferrite substituted by zinc (Zn) element. The as- synthesized Zn substituted Co- Mn ferrite was subjected to heat treatment at 600 oC and 800 oC for 2h. Effects of heat treatment on the structural, morphological, surface and magnetic properties of ZnCoMn ferrite were studied. These properties were characterized by using various techniques including TGA-DTGA, FTIR, XRD, SEM, EDX, TEM and VSM. The results showed that the used preparation route led to the formation of nano crystalline Zn0.2Co0.4Mn0.4Fe2O4 particle with cubic spinel type structure. The crystallinity of this ferrite increases as the heat treatment increases. However, the preparation method resulted to the creation of spongy, fluffy, foamy and fragile material with cubic type structure with some agglomerations. Increasing the calcination temperature from 600 oC to 800 oC, led to a decrease in the surface area (39.4 %) of the as- synthesized ferrite. This treatment causes an increase in the magnetization(40.3 %) of this ferrite. The heat treatment that led to various changes in the different properties of the manufactured ferrite was discussed.