Exchange-spring behavior in bimagnetic CoFe 2O4/CoFe 2 nanocomposite Leite, G. C. P.1, Chagas, E. F. 1, Pereira, R. 1, Prado, R. J. 1, Terezo, A. J. 2 , Alzamora, M. 3, and Baggio-Saitovitch, E. 3 1Instituto de Física , Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, 78060-900, Cuiabá- MT, Brazil 2Departamento de Química, Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso, 78060-900, Cuiabá-MT, Brazil 3Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas, Rua Xavier Sigaud 150 Urca. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Phone number: 55 65 3615 8747 Fax: 55 65 3615 8730 Email address:
[email protected] Abstract In this work we report a study of the magnetic behavior of ferrimagnetic oxide CoFe 2O4 and ferrimagnetic oxide/ferromagnetic metal CoFe 2O4/CoFe 2 nanocomposites. The latter compound is a good system to study hard ferrimagnet/soft ferromagnet exchange coupling. Two steps were used to synthesize the bimagnetic CoFe 2O4/CoFe 2 nanocomposites: (i) first preparation of CoFe 2O4 nanoparticles using the a simple hydrothermal method and (ii) second reduction reaction of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles using activated charcoal in inert atmosphere and high temperature. The phase structures, particle sizes, morphology, and magnetic properties of CoFe 2O4 nanoparticles have been investigated by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Mossbauer spectroscopy (MS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) with applied field up to 3.0 kOe at room temperature and 50K. The mean diameter of CoFe 2O4 particles is about 16 nm. Mossbauer spectra reveal two sites for Fe3+. One site is related to Fe in an octahedral coordination and the other one to the Fe3+ in a tetrahedral coordination, as expected for a spinel crystal structure of CoFe 2O4.