Study of the effect of particle size on the specific absorption rate of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles in a radio frequency magnetic field

Studies show that the size of magnetic nanoparticles has an important impact on their properties. So, the possibility of an optimal size for their use in medical applications has been reported. Therefore, in this study, cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were prepared using co-precipitation method  at 80°C; then the powder was annealed  in a furnace at 150, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600°C to obtain nanoparticles with different sizes. The X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed the formation of a pure spinel phase in the nanoparticles, and the average size of the  crystalites of the samples was determined by Scherrer's formula  to be  8.18, 9.04 , 8.95, 9.55, 10.40 and 11.12 nm for synthesized samples at 150 to 600°C, respectively. Measurements of magnetic properties also indicated an increase in the field and the saturation magnetization by enhancing the size. The heat generation  efficiency of the nanoparticles suspension was measured by the application of an alternating magnetic field at 92 kHz and the temperature increase curve was calculated versus time. These experiments showed that the highest value of specific adsorption rate for nanoparticles of about 9 nm, and particles larger or smaller than that amount led to a smaller absorption rate. The results of this study, suggest an optimal size for hypertherma applications in which the highest thermal efficiency is achieved.