Synthesis, surface modification, and characterization of Fe3O4@SiO2 core@shell nanostructure

Abstract

Abstract In recent times, nanoparticles have been the focal point of research in nanoscience due to their wide scope of potential applications in all fields of science. Iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (NPs) show incredible magnetic saturation, stability, biocompatibility, and intuitive properties on the surface, which makes them ideal for being utilized in several ways. In the present study, Fe3O4 NPs were synthesized by co-precipitation and further coated with silica (SiO2) to avoid aggregation. Synthesized nanoparticles (Fe3O4@SiO2) were individually functionalized using glycine and malonic acid and characterized by various spectroscopies and microscopies techniques. XRD diffraction analysis showed that the presence of SiO2 did not alter the diffraction pattern peaks, which represented the existence of Fe3O4. The presence of Fe3O4 and SiO2 nanoparticles were further confirmed using EDS. Transmission electron microscope micrographs of the synthesized nanoparticles exhibited spherical shape and confirmed the increase in particle size after coating with SiO2. Also, the analysis of dynamic light scattering showed that the particle size of Fe3O4@SiO2 functionalized with malonic acid (229.433 nm) was greater than those functionalized with glycine (57.2496 nm). However, the surface area was greater in Fe3O4@SiO2-glycine (104.8 m2/g) than Fe3O4@SiO2-malonic acid (26.15 m2/g). The key findings suggest that the synthesized core-shell Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles are a promising candidate for a wide array of applications in the field of medicine and environmental science.