Rietveld Refinement of X‐Ray Diffraction Analysis and Investigation of Structural, Morphology, Surface Area, and Magnetic Properties of Cobalt Ferrite Nanoparticles for Antibacterial Activity

ABSTRACT Cobalt ferrite (CoFe 2 O 4 ) nanoparticles with a spinel structure were successfully synthesized via the sol–gel self‐combustion method using glycine as a fuel. The x‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the formation of a single‐phase cubic spinel structure, exhibiting a lattice parameter of 8.4044 Å and an average crystallite size of 13 nm. FTIR spectroscopy further supported the structural formation by characteristic metal–oxygen vibrational bands at 526.56 cm − 1 (ν 1 ) and 410.83 cm − 1 (ν 2 ), corresponding to tetrahedral and octahedral sites in the spinel lattice. The Raman spectroscopy results confirm the formation of the spinel phase in the prepared sample, as determined by analysis of the vibrational modes using a best‐fitting procedure. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed well‐defined, uniformly distributed nanoparticles with clear morphological features, with an average particle size of 18 nm. BET analysis yielded a specific surface area of 21.93 m 2 /g, indicating the material's porous nature. The vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) technique used for magnetic characterization indicates a saturation magnetization of 81.75 emu g − 1 and a coercivity of 1075 Oe. The observed and calculated magneton numbers agree closely, indicating a collinear structure. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized CoFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles was evaluated against Bacillus subtilis (Gram‐positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram‐negative), demonstrating effective inhibition of both bacterial strains. These results highlight the potential of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles for antibacterial applications and other functional nanomaterial‐based systems.