ULTRAFAST SYNTHESIS AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF COBALT FERRITE/COBALT IRON NANOCOMPOSITES BY HIGH-ENERGY MILLING

Abstract

This article explores the ultrafast synthesis of cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) and cobalt iron (CoFe) nanocomposites using the high-energy ball milling method. The approach involved milling precursor cobalt ferrite and mixing it with different concentrations (10%, 25%, and 50% by weight) of cobalt iron, using a Spex 8000 ball mill for an extremely short processing time of just 1 minute. The magnetic properties of the resulting nanocomposites were investigated by vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The results demonstrated the formation of a magnetic exchange coupling (exchange-spring) between the CoFe2O4 and CoFe phases, evidenced by continuous hysteresis loops without discontinuities. The evolution of saturation magnetization (Ms), remanence (Mr), coercivity (Hc), and maximum energy product ([BH]max was analyzed as a function of CoFe concentration. It was observed that Ms increased with CoFe concentration, while Mr, Hc, and [BH]max exhibited a decreasing trend. The high efficiency and speed of this synthesis method, being 60 times faster than hydrogen-based reduction processes, highlight its potential for large-scale production of nanocomposites with tunable magnetic properties for various technological applications.