CTAB cationic surfactant assisted synthesis of CoFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles

In this work, influence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) cationic surfactant of various concentrations on the structural, morphological, dielectric and magnetic properties of cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) nanoparticles, prepared by co-precipitation method, is reported. Powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectral analyses confirmed the formation of cubic spinel structure of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy measurement revealed that the addition of CTAB cationic surfactant helps to control the size of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles. Dielectric properties of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles were enhanced by the addition of CTAB concentrations. Saturation magnetization (Ms), coercivity (Hc) and retentivity (Mr) of CoFe2O4 were significantly enhanced due to addition of CTAB in the synthesis process of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles. Hence, the present results imply that the addition of CTAB cationic surfactant in the synthesis process controls the size of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles and thus considerably influences the dielectric and magnetic properties of CoFe2O4.