Sonochemical approach to the synthesis of Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2) core-shell nanoparticles with tunable properties

ACS Nano. 2008 May;2(5):847-56. doi: 10.1021/nn800091q.

Abstract

In this study, we report a rapid sonochemical synthesis of monodisperse nonaggregated Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2) magnetic nanoparticles (NPs). We found that coprecipitation of Fe(II) and Fe(III) in aqueous solutions under the effect of power ultrasound yields smaller Fe(3)O(4) NPs with a narrow size distribution (4-8 nm) compared to the silent reaction. Moreover, the coating of Fe(3)O(4) NPs with silica using an alkaline hydrolysis of tetraethyl orthosilicate in ethanol-water mixture is accelerated many-fold in the presence of a 20 kHz ultrasonic field. The thickness of the silica shell can be easily controlled in the range of several nanometers during sonication. Mossbauer spectra revealed that nonsuperparamagnetic behavior of obtained core-shell NPs is mostly related to the dipole-dipole interactions of magnetic cores and not to the particle size effect. Core-shell Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2) NPs prepared with sonochemistry exhibit a higher magnetization value than that for NPs obtained under silent conditions owing to better control of the deposited silica quantities as well as to the high speed of sonochemical coating, which prevents the magnetite from oxidizing.

MeSH terms

  • Crystallization / methods*
  • Ferric Compounds / chemistry*
  • Ferric Compounds / radiation effects
  • Macromolecular Substances / chemistry
  • Macromolecular Substances / radiation effects
  • Magnetics / methods*
  • Materials Testing
  • Molecular Conformation / radiation effects
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*
  • Nanostructures / radiation effects
  • Nanostructures / ultrastructure*
  • Nanotechnology / methods
  • Particle Size
  • Silicon Dioxide / chemistry*
  • Silicon Dioxide / radiation effects
  • Sonication*
  • Surface Properties / radiation effects

Substances

  • Ferric Compounds
  • Macromolecular Substances
  • ferric oxide
  • Silicon Dioxide