Ultrafine Co1−Zn Fe2O4 particles synthesized by hydrolysis: Effect of thermal treatment and its relationship with magnetic properties

Co1-xZnxFe2O4 (x = 0, 0.2 and 0.4) fine powders with particles size of 3 nm were prepared by hydrolysis method. The powders were annealed at 500 °C for 3 h. With heat treatment, the average particles size increased to 12 nm with corresponding increase in blocking temperature, saturation magnetization and reduced remanence. A significant increase in coercive field was found only for the pure CoFe2O4. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.