Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism (2023) 36:1913–1925

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10948-023-06627-z

ORIGINAL PAPER

Structural, Surface, Magnetic Study and Application of Nanoparticles

­CoFe2O4, ZnO and its Nanocomposite
M. M. Arman1 · S. I. El‑Dek2

Received: 14 May 2023 / Accepted: 30 September 2023 / Published online: 23 October 2023
© The Author(s) 2023

Abstract
Nanoparticles of ­CoFe2O4 and ZnO were synthesized using the citrate auto-combustion method. A nanocomposite ­CoFe2O4/
ZnO (70:30) was prepared. XRD verified that the samples were synthesized in nanoscale with crystallite sizes of 66.01,
12.48, and 17.47, respectively. The HRTEM image of ­CoFe2O4 illustrates the cubic structure. FESEM showed that the shape
of ­CoFe2O4, ZnO, and C­ oFe2O4/ZnO nanoparticles is nearly spherical in morphology. EDAX measurements illustrated that
the samples were obtained with nominal compositions similar to their chemical formula. XPS spectra of the investigated
­CoFe2O4 confirmed the presence of ­Co2+ and ­Co3+ ions, as well as ­Fe3+ and ­Fe2+ ions. The saturation magnetization increased
for ­CoFe2O4/ZnO than that of the parent C
­ oFe2O4 due to strong ferromagnetic coupling. Antibacterial activity was recorded
for the nanocomposite despite its absence from the two parents.

Keywords ZnO · Ferrite · Nanocomposite · Nanoparticles · Magnetization · Coactivity

1 Introduction oxygen ions, producing the ferrimagnetic behavior [8]. The

preparation methods of ferrites affect the shape and size of
Cobalt spinel ferrite (­ CoFe2O4) is one of the crucial mag- the prepared nanoparticles, which influence the ­CoFe2O4
netic materials. C
­ oFe2O4 is characterized by its electronic ferrite's magnetic properties [9]. ­CoFe2O4 was synthesized
and magnetic properties, such as high coercivity, cubic mag- using a variety of techniques, including sol-gel [10], reverse
netocrystalline anisotropy, high transition Curie temperature micelles [11], forced hydrolysis in a polyol medium [12],
­TC, chemical stability, magnetostriction, mechanical hard- and citrate auto combustion [13]. The preparation of nano-
ness, and electrical insulation [1–5]. ­CoFe2O4 has many particles by the citrate combustion method is characterized
applications, such as electronic devices, magnetic microwave by a fast, simple, and easy technique [14].
devices, ferrofluids, heavy metal removal, Li ion batteries, Based on ZnO, this is a semiconductor material with
and information storage devices [6, 7]. unique characteristics such as nontoxicity, a bandgap of 3.3
CoFe2O4 has a cubic structure with eight formula units eV at room temperature, good chemical, photosensitivity,
in each unit cell. There are two sites that the cations can and thermal stability [15]. The photocatalysis performance
occupy: the tetrahedral [A] and octahedral [B] sites. With and antibacterial activity depend on the movement of pho-
octahedral ­Co2+ and fcc close packing O ­ 2− ions, ­CoFe2O4 togenerated electrons and holes to the surface. This trans-
has an inverse spinel structure [8]. The magnetic features of fer causes pollutants to degrade and has weak antibacterial
­CoFe2O4 originate from the presence of antiparallel sublat- activity [16, 17]. The preparation of composites from metal
tices which produce a superexchange interaction through the oxide and magnetic nanoparticles leads to an increase in
their chemical and physical behaviors [18]. The addition
of ZnO @ ­CoFe2O4 enhances the antibacterial activity of
* M. M. Arman
mmarmsci@gmail.com; mmarmsci@cu.edu.eg ­CoFe2O4. Many researchers studied the composite between
the metal oxide and magnetic materials [16], while a few of
1
Materials Science Lab (1), Physics Department, Faculty them reported the antibacterial activity of the C
­ oFe2O4/ZnO
of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt nanocomposite. Based on this fact, the preparation of the
2
Materials Science and Nanotechnology Department, Faculty ­CoFe2O4/ZnO nanocomposites and the antibacterial activity
of Postgraduate Studies for Advanced Sciences, Beni-Suef of the composite will be examined.
University, Beni‑Suef, Egypt

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1914 Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism (2023) 36:1913–1925

In the present study, the nanoparticles ­CoFe2O4, ZnO, mapping and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) using
and their nanocomposite ­CoFe2O4/ZnO were synthesized a scanning electron microscope (FESEM, model Quanta
via the simple, fast citrate combustion technique. The struc- 250), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis
ture and morphology of the samples were studied using via K-ALPHA (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA). A vibrat-
XRD, FESEM, HRTEM, XPS, SAED, EDS and mapping. ing sample magnetometer (VSM; 9600–1 LDJ, USA) was
The magnetic properties of the samples were studied using used to study the magnetic properties of the samples at room
VSM. The antibacterial activity of the investigated samples temperature.
was also examined.
2.6 Antibacterial Activity

2 Experimental Techniques 2.6.1 Antimicrobial Assay

2.1 Materials Used The antimicrobial activity was examined using the agar well
diffusion technique for all investigated nanoparticles and
The chemicals used to prepare the investigated samples are their nanocomposite. Using nutritional agar medium, all the
of high purity. Ferric nitrate Fe(NO3)3.9H2O, cobalt nitrate compounds were evaluated in vitro for their antibacterial
Co(NO 3) 2.6H 2O, zinc nitrate Zn(NO 3) 2 and citric acid activity against gram positive bacteria like Staphylococcus
­C6H8O7 are brought from Sigma Aldrich Company. aureus and Streptococcus mutans as well as gram negative
bacteria like Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and
2.2 Preparation of ­CoFe2O4 Nanoparticles Klebsiella pneumonia. Standard drugs for gram positive and
gram negative bacteria are ampicillin and gentamicin, respec-
The cobalt spinel ferrite was synthesized by the citrate tively. This test uses a 15 mg/ml concentration against both
nitrate auto combustion method [19]. The initial ingredients, bacterial strains.
cobalt nitrate (1 mol) and iron nitrate (1 mol) were mixed
with citric acid (2 mol) in stoichiometric ratios in an aque- 2.6.2 Method of Testing
ous solution. The ratio between the metal nitrates and citric
acid is 1:1. The solution's pH was adjusted to 7 by adding Twenty ml of the sterilized media was added to each steri-
ammonia droplets as a fuel. To create a fluffy powder, the lized petri dish, and they were left to harden at room tem-
sample was thoroughly combined and heated on a hot plate. perature. A 1.5 × ­105 CFU m ­ L−1 microbial suspension was
Then the powder was calcined at 600 °C for 4 h. created in sterile saline, and its turbidity was adjusted to an
OD of 0.13 using a spectrophotometer at 625 nm. A sterile
2.3 Synthesis of Zinc Oxide ZnO cotton swab should ideally be saturated on the dried agar sur-
face and left to dry for 15 min with the lid on within 15 min
ZnO was prepared by the citrate nitrate combustion method. of adjusting the turbidity of the inoculum suspension. Using a
The zinc nitrate (1 mol) and citric acid (1 mol) were mixed sterile borer, 6 mm-diameter wells were created in the solidi-
in stoichiometric ratios and dissolved in distilled water. The fied material. With the aid of a micropipette, 100 μL of the
Zn(NO3)2 to citric acid ratio is 1:1. The ammonia solution tested compound's solution were added to each well. In order
adjusted the solution's pH to 7. The sample was placed on a to test for antibacterial activity, the plates were incubated at
hot plate and heated to create a fluffy powder. The sample 37 °C for 24 h. Zones of inhibition were quantified in mm.
was calcined at 550 °C for 3 h. scale, and the tests were triple-blinded [20].

2.4 Preparation of ­CoFe2O4/ZnO Nanocomposite

3 Results and Discussion
The ­CoFe2O4/ZnO nanocomposite was synthesized by mix-
ing 70% weight of ­CoFe2O4 to 30% weight of ZnO and then The XRD patterns of the investigated samples ­CoFe2O4,
grinding for 2 h. ZnO and C ­ oFe2O4/ZnO nanoparticles are illustrated in
Fig. 1. The XRD pattern of ­C oFe 2O 4 nanoparticles is
2.5 Characterization and Measurement of Samples presented in Fig. 1a in which diffraction peaks located at
2θ = 30.16º, 35.51 º, 43.15º, 57.04º and 62.65º are attrib-
The structure and morphology of the prepared samples were uted to the (220), (311), (400) and (440) planes, respectively.
investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD, Bruker Advance The XRD data of spinel ferrite C ­ oFe2O4 was indexed with
D8 diffractometer, λ = 1.5418 Å), high-resolution transmis- ICDD card no. 022-1086 as illustrated in Fig. 1a. Co ferrite
sion electron microscope (HRTEM, JEOL-2100), elemental sample was prepared in a single phase cubic structure with

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Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism (2023) 36:1913–1925 1915

Fig. 1  XRD of ­CoFe2O4, ZnO,

­CoFe2O4/ZnO, ICDD card
number 22-1086 and ICDD card
00-036-1451

space group Fd3m. The lattice parameters were calculated (103), (200), (112), (201), (004) and (202) planes of ZnO
and listed in Table 1 according to the following relation for (ICDD card 036-1451). ZnO was synthesized in single phase
cubic structure: hexagonal structure with space group P63mc. According to
Eq. (2), the lattice parameters were calculated on the basis
1 1
= (h2 + k2 + l2 ) 2 (1) of the hexagonal symmetry.
d2 a
1 4 a 1
Figure 1(b) illustrates the XRD pattern of ZnO. The peak = [ (h2 + k2 + hk) + l2 ( )2] 2 (2)
d2 3 c a
positions were indexed as (100), (002), (101), (102), (110),

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1916 Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism (2023) 36:1913–1925

Table 1  Values of the lattice Samples a(Å) b(Å) c(Å) V(Å3) Dx L (nm) L (nm)
parameters, the unit cell volume (g/cm3) (XRD) (HRTEM)
(V), the crystallite size from
XRD (L), the theoretical density CoFe2O4 8.373 8.373 8.373 586.96 5.309 66.01 51.04
­(Dx) and the particle size (L) for
ZnO 3.253 3.253 5.207 55.085 4.906 12.48 15.74
the investigated samples
CoFe2O4 / ZnO a for CoFe2O4 b for CoFe2O4 c for CoFe2O4 589.53 5.286 17.47 45.59
8.385 8.385 8.385

Figure 1(c) shows the XRD patterns of the nanocompos- where λ is the wave length of the X-ray radiation
ite ­CoFe2O4/ZnO. The average crystallite sizes of ­CoFe2O4, (λ = 1.5406 Å), D denoted the average crystallite size, β is
ZnO and C ­ oFe2O4/ZnO were calculated according to the the corrected width at half maximum intensity of the powder
following well-known Scherrer formula: [21] pattern peak and θ refers to the Bragg angle. The values of
the crystallite size of the investigated samples are reported
0.9 𝜆
D= (3) in Table 1. The unit cell volumes were calculated according
𝛽cos𝜃
to the following equations:

Fig. 2  HRTEM images of a ­CoFe2O4, b ZnO and c ­CoFe2O4/ZnO nanoparticles

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Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism (2023) 36:1913–1925 1917

ZnO and ­CoFe2O4/ZnO nanoparticles. The image of the

V = a3 (For cubic structure) (4)
­CoFe2O4 shows the cubic structure of the sample which
confirms the data obtained from XRD. The ZnO particles
V = a2c (For hexagonal structure) (5) at the nanoscale are clearly seen as hexagonal platelets in
The theoretical densities were calculated using the fol- Fig. 2(b) and in the nanocomposite also their morphology
lowing equation. is kept unchanged. The particle size values were tabulated
in Table 1 and indicated that the investigated samples were
Dx =
ZM
(6) prepared in nano scale. The agglomeration of the particles
NA V appears due to the magnetostatic interaction and the absence
of surfactant or coating [22, 23]. The inset illustrates the
where Z (Z = 8 for C­ oFe2O4 and Z = 2 for ZnO) is the num-
selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) consisting of con-
ber of molecules per unit cell, M is the molecular weight,
centric distinguished rings which assured that the samples
­NA is the Avogadro’s number and V is the unit cell volume.
were synthesized in polycrystalline nature with very good
The lattice parameter a is 8.373 Å to ­CoFe2O4 and increased
crystallinity despite the small size.
to 8.385 Å for the C­ oFe2O4 / ZnO composite. The unit cell
The morphology and structure of the samples were stud-
volume (V) increased from 586.96 Å3 for ­CoFe2O4 to 589.53
ied using FE-SEM. Figure 3 illustrates the FE-SEM images
Å3 for the nanocomposite. According to Eq. (6), the theoreti-
of the investigated samples. The shapes of ­CoFe2O4, ZnO,
cal density decreased with increasing the unit cell volume.
and ­CoFe2O4 /ZnO nanoparticles have a nearly spherical
So ­Dx decreased from 5.309 g/cm3 for ­CoFe2O4 to 5.286 g/
morphology. Figure 3a illustrates the spherical shapes of
cm3 for ­CoFe2O4 / ZnO nanocomposite.
­CoFe2O4, while the particles of ZnO have a flower shape,
HRTEM was used to study the morphology of the sam-
as illustrated in Fig. 3b. The morphology of the ­CoFe2O4/
ples. Figure 2 illustrates the HRTEM images of C ­ oFe2O4,

(a) CoFe2O4 (b) ZnO

(c) CoFe2O4 / ZnO

Fig. 3  FESEM images of a ­CoFe2O4, b ZnO and c CoFe2O4/ZnO nanoparticles

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1918 Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism (2023) 36:1913–1925

Fig. 4  EDS curves of a ­CoFe2O4 b ZnO and c ­CoFe2O4 / ZnO

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Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism (2023) 36:1913–1925 1919

ZnO illustrated the presence of both C ­ oFe2O4 and ZnO in due to the fact that the C ­ o3+ orbital has unpaired valence
the sample, as shown in Fig. 3c. electrons [24].
To assure that the samples were synthesized in pure form, Figure 6(c) illustrates the spectrum of Fe ions in ­CoFe2O4
the energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) measurement nanoparticles which reveals the presence of two kinds of
was performed. Figure 4 shows the chemical composition Fe bonds in the cobalt ferrite sample, referring to the octa-
of the investigated samples: ­CoFe2O4, ZnO and ­CoFe2O4 hedral and tetrahedral sites. The peaks at binding energies
/ ZnO. The spectra illustrate strong, intense peaks of Fe, of 711.77 and 714.32 eV correspond to Fe 2­ p3/2 while the
Co, Zn and O which reveal their presence in the investi- binding energies of Fe 2­ p1/2 were observed at 725.20 and
gated samples. Table 2 shows the values of weight percent- 728.13 eV [6]. The doublets can be ascribed to F ­ e3+ ions
age (wt.%) and atomic percentage (at.%) calculated experi- in octahedral and tetrahedral sites, respectively. The F ­ e3+
mentally from EDAX and theoretically from the chemical ions in octahedral sites have the doublets of Fe ­2p3/2 BE at
formula. The EDAX maps of the investigated samples are 711.77 eV and Fe ­2p1/2 BE at 725.20 eV, while the doublets
illustrated in Fig. 5 which shows the homogenous distribu- of Fe ­2p3/2 BE at 714.32 eV and Fe ­2p1/2 BE at 728.13 eV
tion of iron, cobalt, oxygen and zinc throughout the samples. are related to the F ­ e3+ ions in tetrahedral sites. From the
Figure 6(a) illustrates the wide-scan XPS spectra of the integrated intensity of the fitted doublets, ­Fe3+ ions contrib-
investigated ­CoFe2O4 nanoparticles. The sample contains Co, ute about 65% in octahedral sites and about 35% in tetrahe-
Fe and O elements without any other impurity elements except dral sites. The satellite structure gives useful information
carbon. The carbon is present on the surface of the sample due about the iron chemical environment. The binding energy at
to contamination caused by handling [6]. Figure 6(b–d) show 717.88 eV corresponds to the satellite peak, [25] which indi-
the high-resolution narrow-scan XPS spectra of the Co 2p, Fe cates the presence of some ­Fe2+ in the ­CoFe2O4 sample [26].
2p, and O 1s peaks, respectively. The O 1s XPS spectrum is illustrated in Fig. 6(d). The
Figure 6(b) illustrates the XPS spectrum of Co 2­ p3/2 in spectrum has three peaks at binding energies of 530.3,
­CoFe2O4. The peak observed at BE at 781.57 eV is associ- 531.9, and 534.1 eV. The main peak at 531.9 eV is a result
ated with ­Co2+ ions in tetrahedral sites [6]. The presence of of the contribution of the ferrite crystal lattice oxygen [25].
a peak at BE 784.56 eV assures that some of the C ­ o3+ ions Figure 6(e) illustrates the XPS survey spectra for ZnO
are occupied in octahedral sites [24]. The two possibilities nanoparticles. The photoelectron peaks corresponding to Zn
for the oxidation of ­Co2+ to C ­ o3+ are that the oxidation of and O were observed. Figure 6(f) showed two strong peaks
cobalt is compensated by a reduction of some F ­ e3+ to F
­ e2+ at binding energies of 1022.01 and 1044.99 eV, which are
to make the lattice charge neutral, or the migration of ­Co2+ related to ­Zn2p3/2 and Z­ n2p1/2 [27–29]. According to the area
to tetrahedral sites. The low spin ­Co3+ atom is character- under the peaks, Z ­ n2p3/2 and ­Zn2p1/2 present in the sam-
ized by a much weaker satellite than that of high spin C ­ o2+, ple by a percentage ratio of 63% and 37% respectively. In

Table 2  Illustrates the weight percentage (wt. %) and atomic percentage (at.%) of the O, Fe, Zn, and Co elements for the samples (a) ­CoFe2O4,
(b) ZnO, and (c) ­CoFe2O4 / ZnO
(a) Elements Weight percentage (wt. %) Atomic percentage (at.%)
Experimental Theoretical Experimental Theoretical

OK 26.33 27.28 55.98 57.14

Fe K 46.8 47.61 28.51 28.57
Co K 26.87 25.11 15.51 14.29
(b) Elements Weight percentage (wt. %) Atomic percentage (at.%)
Experimental Theoretical Experimental Theoretical

OK 17.82 19.66 46.98 50

Zn K 82.18 80.34 53.02 50
(c) Elements Weight percentage (wt. %) Atomic percentage (at.%)
Experimental Theoretical Experimental Theoretical

OK 23.62 25.32 53.6 55.56

Zn L 28.08 20.69 15.59 11.11
Fe K 31.04 35.34 20.18 22.22
Co K 17.25 18.65 10.63 11.11

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1920 Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism (2023) 36:1913–1925

Fig. 5  The elemental mapping of a CoFe2O4, b ZnO and c ­CoFe2O4 / ZnO samples

Fig. 6(g), a broad peak at 530.59 eV is attributed to O 1s, clear that the C
­ oFe2O4 nanoparticles revealed a large, satu-
which corresponds to ­O2− in the hexagonal structure of ZnO rated loop with an enhanced magnetization value and hard
nanoparticles [30, 31]. By fitting the broad peak of O 1s, two like behavior. The saturation and remanence magnetization
Gaussian peaks appeared at two binding energies, 530.61 and values are listed in Table 3. The data assure that the positive
532.27 eV. The XPS survey spectrum for the nanocomposite magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the ­Co2+ ions is the main
­CoFe2O4/ZnO is shown in Fig. 6(h). The spectra illustrated contribution to the very large coercive field values, as the
that the nanocomposite contains Co, Fe, Zn and O elements. highly crystalline cubic anisotropy is predominant here [32].
Figure 7 illustrates the hysteresis loop of the prepared nan- The morphology of the crystals also makes it difficult to
oparticles and their nanocomposite at room temperature. It is demagnetize and agrees well with the observed magnetic

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Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism (2023) 36:1913–1925 1921

Fig. 6  XPS spectra of a ­CoFe2O4, b Co2p, c Fe2p, d O1s of ­CoFe2O4, e ZnO, f Zn2p of ZnO, g O1s of ZnO, and h ­CoFe2O4/ZnO

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1922 Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism (2023) 36:1913–1925

Fig. 7  The M-H hysteresis loop of the prepared nanoparticles. The inset illustrates the loop opening for ZnO sample

parameters despite the small values of the crystallite size. Zn ions among tetrahedral and octahedral sites. ii. the exist-
The obtained values of coercivity oriented us to recommend ence of some oxygen vacancies resulting from small particle
these ferrites for hard magnets. It was well known that ZnO size. iii. The appearance of some secondary phases due to
is distinguished by its paramagnetic nature as reported by impurities. The latter is the least probable reason as XRD
many researchers [33]. After being synthesized in nanoscale, analysis was proven to be single phase. For the investigated
some authors guaranteed the weak ferromagnetic nature at nanocomposite, the results were improved in terms of the
very small size [34]. increase in saturation magnetization as a consequence of the
The ferromagnetic nature of our prepared ZnO nanopar- ferromagnetic coupling between the ferrimagnetic lattice of
ticles could originate from the following: i. redistribution of Co ferrite and the ferromagnetic ZnO one. The anisotropy

Table 3  The values of the saturation magnetization (Ms), remanence magnetization (Mr), the coercivity field (Hc), anisotropy constant (K), M-H
loop area, and squareness ratio for ­CoFe2O4, ZnO, and C
­ oFe2O4/ZnO samples
Samples Ms Mr Hc M-H loop area K Squareness
(emu.g−1) (emu.g−1) Oe (erg.g−1) (emu Oe.g−1)

CoFe2O4 55.971 27.271 1355 213.24 × ­103 79000 0.487

ZnO 3.257 36.4 × ­10–3 248.02 1567.5 841.46 0.011
CoFe2O4/ZnO 58.963 28.584 1428.2 247.91 × ­103 87719 0.485

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Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism (2023) 36:1913–1925 1923

Table 4  The antibacterial activity Additionally, the broken chemical bonds at the surface of
Types of antibacterial Standard CoFe2O4 ZnO CoFe2O4/ZnO the nanoferrite results in the generation of metal ions from
nano ferrites. Those positively charged ions are electrostati-
Bacillus Subtilis 26 0.0 0.0 10 cally attracted to the membrane of the negatively charged
Staphylococcus Aureas 21 0.0 0.0 12 bacterial cell. Subsequently, they bond ensuing in DNA dam-
Escherichia Coli 25 0.0 0.0 11 age. Another plausible cause could be the shape and larger
Pseudomonas Aerugi- 26 0.0 0.0 10 surface-to-volume ratio of nanocomposite, which is fortunate
nosa
for better interaction with the bacterial cell membrane. Future
work will be directed towards the determination of minimum
inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the possible use of these
constant was also calculated from [35] using Eq. (7) and nanocomposites in coating medical devices.
listed in Table 3.

K=
HC × MS
(7) 4 Conclusion
0.96
where K is the magnetic anisotropy constant, Hc is the coer- A simple, fast, and effective citrate nitrate technique was suc-
civity, and Ms is the saturation magnetization. cessfully used for preparing ­CoFe2O4, ZnO, and their 70%
The value of the coercive field increased for the nano- ­CoFe2O4 + 30%ZnO nanocomposite. Nanocrystals were char-
composite compared to the nanoferrite itself, this could be acterized using a diversity of practices. A single phase was
attributed to the decrease in crystallite size after adding the obtained and identified for the two parent compounds, while
ZnO to the ­CoFe2O4. Our results agree with the explanation two separate phases are identified in the nanocomposite with the
reported by Neetu Dhanda et al. [36] ratio 70% C ­ oFe2O4 + 30% ZnO. The crystallite size decreased
The anisotropy constant for the nanocomposite is the for the nanocomposites compared to the parents, where
largest one as the ZnO acted as pinning centers between L = 66.01 nm for C­ oFe2O4 and L = 17.47 nm for the nanocom-
the ferrimagnetic domains of the C ­ oFe2O4. Herein, ZnO posite. The nanoferrites are observed to possess a cubic geomet-
nanocrystals make it difficult to demagnetize the nanocom- ric shape, while the ZnO is hexagonal and their nanocomposite
posite itself, where it impedes the spins of the ferrite to be groups the two different shapes and morphologies. The particle
reoriented with the external magnetic field direction. The sizes of the investigated samples ranged from 15 to 51 nm. The
values of the squareness ratio assured the strong coupling experimental and theoretical atomic percentages (at.%) of the
between the two phases with hard like nature for the ferrite elements are close to each other. The elemental mapping of the
nanocrystal as well as the nanocomposite and soft ZnO char- elements shows the homogenous distribution of Fe, Co, O, and
acters. The abovementioned parameters for the nanocompos- Zn throughout the samples. The nanoferrite is a typical ferrimag-
ite make it suitable for use in spintronic devices. net, while ZnO nanoparticles have weak ferromagnetic proper-
Table 4 depicts the antibacterial activity of the prepared ties. The nanocomposite revealed better magnetic properties due
nanoparticles and the nanocomposite. It is obvious that the to the size and shape of both parents. The magnetization reached
parent nanoparticles the nanoferrite, nano ZnO didn’t reveal 58.9 emu/g, while the anisotropy was 87,719 emu Oe/ g for the
any inhibition zones. While their nanocomposite revealed 70% ­CoFe2O4 + 30% ZnO nanocomposite. From the results of
an inhibitory zone against all tested strains. This means that antibacterial studies, the nanocomposite was recommended as
70%CoFe2O4 + 30%ZnO had better antibacterial activity. This an antimicrobial coating for medical devices in hospitals, diag-
was directly correlated with concentration used. The (15mg/ nostic centers, and ambulatory surgical centers industries.
ml) wasn’t suitable content for both parents. On the other hand,
lower concentrations of both in their nanocomposite form Author Contribution M.M. Arman put the idea on paper. S.I. El-Dek
were good bactericidal agents for the examined strains. The prepared a ZnO sample, and M.M. Arman prepared ­CoFe2O4 and their
observed antibacterial activity for the nanocomposite is related nanocomposite. S.I. El-Dek and M.M. Arman were sharing the meth-
directly to its smallest crystallite size which enhanced the sur- odology, experiments and revising the final form of the article. M.M.
Arman was discussing and writing the results of the structure (XRD,
face area. Consequently, this is the direct reason of the large XPS) and the microscopy (FESEM, the elemental mapping, EDS,
catalytic activity at the surface and the antagonistic behavior HRTEM). S.I. El-Dek was discussing and writing the results of the
for the used pathogen. The exact antimicrobial mechanism magnetic properties (VSM) and the antibacterial activity.
may need further experiments. In small size of crystals, better
Funding Open access funding provided by The Science, Technology &
contact with the bacterial cell wall membrane is also a reason, Innovation Funding Authority (STDF) in cooperation with The Egyp-
thereby reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced, resulting tian Knowledge Bank (EKB).
in lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, as well as DNA dam-
age. Accordingly, the death of bacteria is the final result [37].

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1924 Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism (2023) 36:1913–1925

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