LAUSR

Abstract We report the cation distribution in CoFe2O4 (CFO) nanofibers (NFs) fabricated by electro-spinning technique for different annealing temperatures in the range of 700–850 °C. Both X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectra of CFO NFs have confirmed that the Co2+ and Fe3+ ions are distributed both in octahedral and tetrahedral sites, forming a mixed spinel ferrite. The analysis of XPS spectra reveals that the Co2+ ions have a tendency to occupy the tetrahedral sites with increasing the annealing temperature, whereas the Fe3+ ions are preferred to migrate to the octahedral sites with a high possibility. Besides, the redistribution of Co2+ ions towards the normal spinel is confirmed by comparing the relative peak areal intensity ratio of A1g(2) and T2g(2) modes associated with the vibrational modes of tetrahedral and octahedral. The effects of the cationic redistribution of the magnetic properties were also discussed.