Preparation and characterization of magnetite-based silica nanocomposite

Abstract

Sol-gel method and successive thermal treatments in vacuum and nitrogen atmosphere were employed to synthesize magnetite nanoparticles isolate them with the aid of amorphous silica. Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses coupled with mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry measurements were performed on the obtained nanocomposites. The effect of atmosphere on the formation of magnetite phase was remarkable.

Keywords

• Sol-gel
• nanocomposite
• magnetite
• Mössbauer spectroscopy