Temperature dependence of magnetic anisotropy constant in cobalt ferrite nanoparticles

The temperature dependence of the effective magnetic anisotropy constant K(T) of CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles is obtained based on the SQUID magnetometry measurements and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The variation of the blocking temperature T_B as a function of particle radius r is first determined by associating the particle size distribution and the anisotropy energy barrier distribution deduced from the hysteresis curve and the magnetization decay curve, respectively. Finally, the magnetic anisotropy constant at each temperature is calculated from the relation between r and T_B. The resultant effective magnetic anisotropy constant K(T) decreases markedly with increasing temperature from 1.1×10⁷ J/m³ at 5 K to 0.6×10⁵ J/m³ at 280 K. The attempt time τ₀ is also determined to be 6.1×10⁻¹² s which together with the K(T) best explains the temperature dependence of superparamagnetic fraction in Mössbauer spectra.