Ultrafine Co1−xZnxFe2O4 (0⩽x⩽1.0) particles are fabricated by a sol-gel method. The magnetic and structural properties of powders were investigated with x-ray diffraction, vibrating samples magnetometer and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The lattice parameter (a0) increases linearly with increasing Zn concentration (x) and follows Vegard’s law approximately. Co0.9Zn0.1Fe2O4 powders that were annealed at and above 673 K have only a single phase spinel structure and behave ferrimagnetically. Powders annealed at 523 K and 573 K have a typical spinel structure and are simultaneously paramagnetic and ferrimagnetic in nature. The magnetic behavior of Co0.9Zn0.1Fe2O4 powders annealed at and above 573 K shows that an increase of the annealing temperature yields a decrease of the coercivity and an increase of the saturation magnetization. The maximum coercivity and the saturation magnetization of Co0.9Zn0.1Fe2O4 ferrite powders are 1328 Oe and 81.1 emu/g, respectively. Mössbauer spectra of Co–Zn ferrite have been taken at various temperatures from 20 to 800 K. The isomer shifts indicate that the iron ions were ferric at the tetrahedral [A] and the octahedral [B]. The Néel temperature of Co0.9Zn0.1Fe2O4 was determined to be TN=790 K and It is found that Debye temperature for the A and B sites of the sample annealed at 1123 K is found to be ΘA=756±5 K and ΘB=199±5 K, respectively. The Néel temperature dramatically decreased with increasing x from about TN=870 K for x=0.0 to TN=35 K for x=1.0.

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Ordered nanostructure materials have received attention due to their unique physical properties and potential applications in electronics, mechanics and optical devices. To actualize most of the proposed applications, it is quite important to obtain highly ordered nanostructure arrays. The well-aligned nanostructure can be achieved by synthesizing nanostructure material in the highly ordered template. In this paper, Anodic Aluminum Oxide (AAO) templates were fabricated using a two-step anodization process with pretreatment such as electropolishing and annealing. To reduce process time and get well-aligned pore array, rapid thermal anneal by an IR lamp was employed in vacuum state at 500oC for 2 hours. The pore array is comparable to a template annealed in vacuum furnace at 500oC for 30 hours. The well-fabricated AAO template has a mean pore diameter of 70 nm and the interpore distance of 100nm. The pore density can be as high as 1.2×1010cm-2.