Microstructural and magnetic evaluation of Fe ₃ O ₄ synthesized by the combustion reaction method)

Abstract

The magnetite nanoparticles have been the subject of numerous scientific researches in various fields such as in biomedicine because of their spontaneous magnetization, chemical stability and non-toxicity. This work aims to evaluate the microstructural and magnetic properties of magnetite nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄) synthesized by combustion reaction induced in a microwave oven under an atmosphere of nitrogen (N₂). The influence of N₂ flow for synthesis in the structure, morphology and magnetic characteristics of the synthesized product was investigated. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and magnetic measurements. The results show that it was possible to obtain the magnetite phase (Fe₃O₄) with traces of hematite (Fe₂O₃). The N₂ flow and the exposure time modified the magnetic structure and the characteristic of the synthesized product. All samples showed small clusters of irregular shapes and sizes ranging from about 20 μm and saturation magnetization between 31 and 70 emu/g, being promising materials for application in biomedicine.

Keywords:
magnetite; microstructural properties; combustion reaction