Affiliations: Department of Chemistry, Islamic Azad University, Yazd Branch, Yazd, Iran
Note: [] Corresponding author: Saeedeh Hashemian, Department of Chemistry, Islamic Azad University, Yazd Branch, Yazd, Iran. Tel.: +98 351 8117572; Fax: +98 3517266065; E-mail: Sa_hashemian@yahoo.com
Abstract: The effect of copper doping on the cobalt ferrite was investigated. Ceramic, pigment, nanoparticles of composition, CuxCo1-xAl2O4 (x = 0.0–1), were prepared using a chemical co-precipitation method. The effect of calcination temperature on the structure of the materials was investigated at 200, 500, 900 and 1200°C. The ceramic pigments were characterized by XRD, FTIR, TEM, UV-vis and colorimetric methods. The XRD patterns displayed the characteristic peaks of the spinel structure and cubic unit cell. The XRD results at 200, 500, 900 and 1200°C showed that the cobalt spinel phase formed at 500°C. The FTIR spectra displayed vibrations which were ascribed to the spinel structure. Particle sizes were determined by TEM to be 140 nm and 70 nm for CoAl2O4 and Cu0.5Co0.5Al2O4, respectively. The UV-vis spectra had three bands attributed to the Co2+ spin transitions in tetrahedral sites. The calorimetric data confirm the formation of sky blue pigments with highly negative b* values.
Keywords: Blue ceramic, calcinations, nano-pigment, $Cu_{x}Co_{1-x}Al_{2}O_{4}$
