The structural, magnetic, and optical properties of Cu1-xCoxFe2O4 spinel ferrite and its applications

Abstract

     In this paper, the nanoparticles of the  spinel ferrite (Cu_1-xCo_xFe₂O₄) were prepared using the sol-gel method at a calcined temperature of 600 °C for 6 hours at the cobalt content (x = 0, 0.3, 0.5). The XRD analysis of the nanoparticles confirmed the formation of a tetragonal spinel structure free of unwanted phases , single-phase and transform into a cubic spinel structure when cobalt content ratio (x = 0.5). The crystalline size and lattice constants increase with increasing cobalt content there was a significant increase in the density of x-rays when the crystal structure turned into a cubic system. SEM images showed that spherical nanoparticles of pure copper ferrite films were distributed of regularly over a substrate of glass  their crystalline size (62.25-60.0) nm, and their crystalline size  decreased to (31.25 - 33.33) nm ,and their accumulation increases when proportion of cobalt content(x = 0.5). EDX established that nanosamples contained the elements  Fe, Mg, Co, and O, and that there were no additional elements, and when the proportion of cobalt content increased (x = 0.5), the iron ions decreased at the tetrahedral site A. The magnetic properties of the copper ferrite  powder were studied using the (VSM), and it was noted that the tetragonal system shifted to a cubic system when the ratio of the cobalt content (x = 0.5). The significant increase in magnetic parameters (Ms, Mr and n_B (m_B)) and the tightness of the hysteresis loop make it a soft magnetic material, so it can be used in high frequency magnetic equipment. The properties of optical the membranes prepared by UV-Is  spectroscopy were studied and showed high transmittance at the percentage of cobalt content (x = 0.5) between (80-90)% in the visible and infrared region. At the ratio (x = 0.5) the energy gap and the dielectric constant increase, making it useful for devices photodetector and gas sensors.