Thermal effect on magnetic parameters of high-coercivity cobalt ferrite

We prepared very high-coercivity cobalt ferrite nanoparticles synthesized by a combustion method and using short-time high-energy mechanical milling to increase strain and the structural defects density. The coercivity (HC) of the milled sample reached 3.75 kOe—a value almost five times higher than that obtained for the non-milled material (0.76 kOe). To investigate the effect of the temperature on the magnetic behavior of the milled sample, we performed a thermal treatment on the milled sample at 300, 400, and 600 °C for 30 and 180 min. We analyzed the changes in the magnetic behavior of the nanoparticles due to the thermal treatment using the hysteresis curves, Williamson-Hall analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. The thermal treatment at 600 °C causes decreases in the microstructural strain and density of structural defects resulting in a significant decrease in HC. Furthermore, this thermal treatment increases the size of the nanoparticles and, as a consequence, there is a substantial increa...