Synthesis and Gamma Radiation Effect on the Structural Properties of Cobalt Ferrite Nanoparticles

In the present work, cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel auto combustion method using citric acid as a fuel. The metal nitrate to fuel ratio was taken as 1:3. The as prepared powder of cobalt ferrite was sintered at 550C for 4 h and used for further characterizations. The sintered pellet of cobalt ferrite is gamma irradiated using Co 60 source. The structural characterizations were made using X-ray diffraction technique for both gamma irradiated and unirradiated cobalt ferrite nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern revealed the formation of single phase cubic spinel structure. No extra peak has been observed in both the XRD patterns. The Bragg’s reflections in the XRD pattern show changes in the intensity and broadening. The crystallite size calculated from Scherrer’s formula was found to be 28.76 nm for gamma unirradiated and 44 nm for gamma irradiated cobalt ferrite nanoparticles. The lattice constant found to be 8.383 Å for gamma unirradiated and 8.377 Å for gamma irradiated cobalt ferrite nanoparticles. Thus, the values of structural parameters indicate the strong influence of gamma irradiation.