Synthesis and characterization of CoFe2O4 ferrite nanoparticles obtained by an electrochemical method

Uniform size cobalt ferrite nanoparticles have been synthesized in one step using an electrochemical technique. Synthesis parameters such as the current density, temperature and stirring were optimized to produce pure cobalt ferrite. The nanoparticles have been investigated by means of magnetic measurements, Mössbauer spectroscopy, x-ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The average size of the electrosynthesized samples was controlled by the synthesis parameters and this showed a rather narrow size distribution. The x-ray analysis shows that the CoFe2O4 obtained presents a totally inverse spinel structure. The magnetic properties of the stoichiometric nanoparticles show ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature with a coercivity up to 6386 Oe and a saturation magnetization of 85 emu g−1.