Monodisperse MFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> (M = Fe, Co, Mn) Nanoparticles
Shouheng Sun, Hao Zeng, David Robinson, Simone Raoux, Philip M. Rice, Shan X. Wang +1 more
Journal of the American Chemical Society
Abstract
High-temperature solution phase reaction of iron(III) acetylacetonate, Fe(acac)(3), with 1,2-hexadecanediol in the presence of oleic acid and oleylamine leads to monodisperse magnetite (Fe(3)O(4)) nanoparticles. Similarly, reaction of Fe(acac)(3) and Co(acac)(2) or Mn(acac)(2) with the same diol results in monodisperse CoFe(2)O(4) or MnFe(2)O(4) nanoparticles. Particle diameter can be tuned from 3 to 20 nm by varying reaction conditions or by seed-mediated growth. The as-synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles have a cubic spinel structure as characterized by HRTEM, SAED, and XRD. Further, Fe(3)O(4) can be oxidized to Fe(2)O(3), as evidenced by XRD, NEXAFS spectroscopy, and SQUID magnetometry. The hydrophobic nanoparticles can be transformed into hydrophilic ones by adding bipolar surfactants