Developments of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles prepared by the sol–gel process

In the phase of the study reported, the sol–gel technique was followed in the preparation of cobalt ferrite amorphous powder following the same procedure which was selected as the best approach as described in a previous study. It was assumed that there must be a correlation between the heat treatment operational parameters and the structural properties of the material being synthesized. Similarly, it was understood that some heat treatment is necessary to completely decompose the organic and nitrate contents present in the amorphous powder. Having ensured that the heat treatment parameters could be changed without producing a material with poorer properties, it was then possible to produce batches of powders using milder conditions in the heat treatment operation. The particle size distributions of these new batches of nanoparticles were estimated to be in the range 7–28 nm and since the results showed promise, their magnetic properties were also determined.