PROPERTIES OF GADOLINIUM DOPED AMORPHOUS SILICON DIOXIDE NANOPOWDERS, PREPARED BY PULSED ELECTRON BEAM EVAPORATION

Abstract

Amorphous silicon dioxide nanopowders doped with Gd (specific surface area of 175 to 212 m^2/g) were prepared using the pulsed electron beam evaporation of the target presented by mechanical mixtures of amorphous Aerosil 90 ( 90 m^2/g) and Gd2O3 powder (REO 99,9% ). The obtained particles are small (less than 10 nm) and of high interparticle porosity and high concentration of gadolinium dopant, that indicates on the possibility of using the prepared nanoparticles SiO2-Gd2O3 as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging.

Keywords

• pulsed electron beam
• the amorphous-nanocrystalline powders SiO2-Gd2O3