DYNAMIC LIGHT SCATTERING STUDY OF REVERSE MICELLAR SYSTEMS FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF IRON-BASED NANOFLUIDS

Abstract

Iron nanoparticles dispersed in hydraulic oil were prepared by mixing two microemulsions containing iron (II) sulfate and sodium borohydride at a temperature of 60°C. Six values of ω 0 = [water]/[surfactant] were used, namely 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30. Dynamic light scattering measurements of the hydrodynamic radius of the reverse micelles showed that the average size, surfactant shell thickness and water core radius, increased with ω0. The micelle size distribution for ω0 values of 5, 10, and 15, was in the nanometer regime, while for ω0 values of 20, 25, and 30 it was in the micrometer regime. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the nanoparticle diameters were around 30 nm for the powders prepared using an ω 0 = 10. In addition, a comparison between the particle size distribution of the iron nanoparticles dispersed in isopropyl alcohol and the iron nanoparticles in the reverse micellar solution was made. It was shown that once the particles are cleaned and separated from the micellar solution, they agglomerate into particles that are about 1 μm in size.