The Effect of Cr3+ Substitution on Magnetic Properties of CoFe2O4 Nanoparticles Synthesized by Microwave Combustion Route

CoCrxFe2−xO4 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) nanoparticles were synthesized by a microwave combustion method and the effect of Cr3+ substitution on structural, morphological, and magnetic properties of CoFe2O4 was studied. The structural, morphological, and magnetic properties of the products were determined and characterized in detail by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Cation distribution of calculations confirmed the B site (octahedral site) preference of substituted Cr3+ ions. X-ray analysis showed that all compositions crystallize with a cubic spinel-type structure. The lattice parameter decreased from 8.384 to 8.362 Å with increasing Cr content. The average crystallite size was found in the range of 30.6–45.4 nm. Magnetization measurements showed that saturation magnetization of products decreases with the increase of the Cr substitution (x).