Effect of zinc doping on magnetic and magnetoelastic properties of cobalt ferrite synthesized by autocombustion process

Zn-doped cobalt-ferrite, with nominal compositions Co1-xZnxFe2O4(0≤x≤0.3), were synthesized by a novel auto combustion technique. The structural properties of the Zn substituted ferrites have been characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD). The as-synthesized powders were calcined at 800°C for 3 hrs and the powders were pressed into cylindrical pellets. Solid-state sintering at 1300°C for 12 hrs of the green pellets resulted in a single phase cubic-spinel structure, as observed and analyzed from the XRD spectra. Room temperature magnetic properties were studied using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) with field strengths up to ± 15 kOe. Magnetoelastic properties were measured using strain gauge method in a pulsed field magnetometer. Effect of zinc doping on its magnetic and magnetoelastic properties of cobalt ferrite is discussed in this paper.