pH, molar ratio of ferrous to ferric ions and surfactant presence effects on physical properties of iron oxide nanoparticles generated by co-precipitation method

Abstract

Iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles are synthesized using the chemical co-precipitation method. Changing factors such as surfactant, pH, and molar ratio of ferrous to ferric ions effects the size and magnetic properties of the nanoparticles significantly. The synthesized nanoparticles are characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The nanoparticles have inverse spinel structure. Superparamagnetic behavior is detectable for all samples. The variations of magnetic properties for different sized Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles can be explained with surface effects and finite size effects.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles
• co-precipitation
• superparamagnetic

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.