Effect of Zn substitution on morphology and magnetic properties of CuFe2O4 nanofibers

Cu1−xZnxFe2O4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) nanofibers with continuous and fibrous morphology have been prepared by electrospinning combined with sol-gel method. The effect of Zn substitution on structure, morphology and magnetic properties were studied extensively. Scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope results reveal that Zn substitution strongly improves the poor morphology of the CuFe2O4 nanofibers. It was found that with increasing Zn content, the saturation magnetization initially increases and then decreases with a maximum value of 58.4 emu g−1 at x = 0.4, whereas the coercivity and square ratio decrease monotonously. Interestingly, the magnetic easy axis of the Cu0.6Zn0.4Fe2O4 nanofibers is not totally along the long axis of the nanofibers, which might due to the loosely connected nanoparticles and/or the dipolar interactions between these nanofibers.