Materials (Jul 2016)

Tunability of Size and Magnetic Moment of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Synthesized by Forced Hydrolysis

  • Ben Sutens,
  • Tom Swusten,
  • Kuo Zhong,
  • Johanna K. Jochum,
  • Margriet J. Van Bael,
  • Erik V. Van der Eycken,
  • Ward Brullot,
  • Maarten Bloemen,
  • Thierry Verbiest

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9070554
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 7
p. 554

Abstract

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To utilize iron oxide nanoparticles in biomedical applications, a sufficient magnetic moment is crucial. Since this magnetic moment is directly proportional to the size of the superparamagnetic nanoparticles, synthesis methods of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles with tunable size are desirable. However, most existing protocols are plagued by several drawbacks. Presented here is a one-pot synthesis method resulting in monodisperse superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles with a controllable size and magnetic moment using cost-effective reagents. The obtained nanoparticles were thoroughly characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) measurements. Furthermore, the influence of the size on the magnetic moment of the nanoparticles is analyzed by superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry. To emphasize the potential use in biomedical applications, magnetic heating experiments were performed.

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