Hybrid Nanostructures of Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> and Au Prepared via Coprecipitation and Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis

The coupled processes of coprecipitation and ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) were used to synthesize Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>-Au hybrid nanostructures. The first coprecipitation method enabled the synthesis of Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanopartic...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lan Kresnik, Peter Majerič, Darja Feizpour, Klementina Pušnik Črešnar, Rebeka Rudolf
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Metals
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/14/12/1324
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Summary:The coupled processes of coprecipitation and ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) were used to synthesize Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>-Au hybrid nanostructures. The first coprecipitation method enabled the synthesis of Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles by mixing iron salts’ ions (Fe<sup>2+</sup> and Fe<sup>3+</sup>) and ammonia as the base, and USP was used as the coating process of the Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles with Au. The formatted hybrid nanostructures consist of Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles that have Au on their surface in the form of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). AuNPs have a crystalline structure and range in size from 10 to 200 nm. Additional characterization techniques, including ICP-OES, TEM, SEM, EDS, DLS, zeta potential, and room temperature magnetic hysteresis loops, were used to determine the chemical, physical, and magnetic properties of the Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles and hybrid nanostructures. It was found that USP produces separate AuNPs too (not just on the Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> surface), suggesting a bimodal formation of AuNPs. The zeta potential of the Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles showed poor stability (−15 mV), indicating a high tendency to aggregate, and the zeta potential of the hybrid nanostructures was also very low (≅0), which, comparatively means even worse stability. The saturation magnetization of the Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles was 35 emu/g, which is relatively lower than that of bulk Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>, while the saturation magnetization of the hybrid nanostructures was significantly lower (0.1 emu/g) compared to the Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles.
ISSN:2075-4701