Magnetic Properties of Manganese Ferrite MnFe2O4 Nanoparticles Synthesized by Co-Precipitation Method

Abstract

In the presented study, manganese ferrite MnFe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by applying a modified co-precipitation method based on the decomposition of metallic precursors in a liquid phase environment in the presence of surfactant oleic acid. The synthesized sample was then characterized with X-ray Diffraction XRD , standard and high resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy TEM and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy FTIR , which revealed that the as-prepared MnFe2O4 particles are monodispersed nanocrystals with an average size of 4.7 nm and well surrounded with dimeric oleic acid coating. The magnetic properties of nanoparticles were first investigated by means of Superconducting Quantum Interference Device SQUID magnetometry. The temperature and field dependent magnetization measurements showed that the MnFe2O4 nanoparticles exhibit superparamagnetic property with zero coercivity at room temperature and thermal irreversibility. The superparamagnetic behavior of MnFe2O4nanoparticles was further confirmed by conducting zero field Mössbauer Spectroscopy measurements on nanoparticle powders. As to fulfill all the requirements like crystallinity, small size and superparamagnetism, the prepared oleic acid coated MnFe2O4 nanoparticles has the potential to be used in biomedical applications like targeted drug delivery, MRI and hyperthermia

Keywords

• superparamagnetism
• manganese ferrite
• magnetic nanoparticles
• squid magnetometry
• mössbauer spectroscopy.