Structural, Surface, Magnetic Study and Application of Nanoparticles CoFe2O4, ZnO and its Nanocomposite

Abstract

Nanoparticles of CoFe2O4 and ZnO were synthesized using the citrate auto-combustion method. A nanocomposite CoFe2O4/ZnO (70:30) was prepared. XRD verified that the samples were synthesized in nanoscale with crystallite sizes of 66.01, 12.48, and 17.47, respectively. The HRTEM image of CoFe2O4 illustrates the cubic structure. FESEM showed that the shape of CoFe2O4, ZnO, and CoFe2O4/ZnO nanoparticles is nearly spherical in morphology. EDAX measurements illustrated that the samples were obtained with nominal compositions similar to their chemical formula. XPS spectra of the investigated CoFe2O4 confirmed the presence of Co2+ and Co3+ ions, as well as Fe3+ and Fe2+ ions. The saturation magnetization increased for CoFe2O4/ZnO than that of the parent CoFe2O4 due to strong ferromagnetic coupling. Antibacterial activity was recorded for the nanocomposite despite its absence from the two parents.