Synthesis and characterization of CoxZn1−xFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles via a PEG-assisted route

We present an investigation of properties of Co_xZn_1−xFe₂O₄ (x=0.0-1.0) nanoparticles synthesized by a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-assisted hydrothermal route. X-ray powder diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and vibrating scanning magnetometry (VSM) were used to characterize the structural, morphological and magnetic properties. The particle size obtained from TEM and XRD are consistent with each other. It was observed that the lattice constant for each composition decreases with increasing Co substitution and follows Vegard's law. Magnetization measurements show that while the materials with high Zn substitution are superparamagnetic at room temperature, they are ferromagnetic at temperatures lower than the blocking temperature. The materials with less Zn substitution are ferromagnetic below room temperature. Magnetizations and the coercivities of the samples decrease with the Zn substitution. The resultant overall magnetic behavior of the superparamagnetic samples are found to be considerably different than that of conventional superparamagnetic systems due to the antiferromagnetic interactions both in intra- and inter-cluster spins, and size (effective moment) distribution of the particles.