Abstract
Cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) nanoparticles were synthesized through three different routes (chemical co-precipitation, ceramic, and sol-gel). The products were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR, photoluminescence (PL), BET, XPS, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The X-ray analysis validates the spinel structure of the samples with particle sizes between 21 – 36 nm. XPS revealed the impact of the preparation route on cation distribution at the tetrahedral and octahedral sites in spinel ferrite lattice. All ferrite surfaces exhibit a mesoporous structure with a surface area between 25 – 99 m2/g. The results show that the prepared samples exhibit either ferromagnetic or super-paramagnetic behavior. The ferrite samples showed a photocatalytic performance under visible light. The present work demonstrates that each of the particle size and cation distribution is effective in controlling the structural, magnetic, and optical properties. The results obtained reveal that this kind of CoFe2O4 spinel ferrite nanoparticles has promising applications in magnetic designs and water treatment fields.