A survey of approaches for morphological, optical, and transport characterization of Fe3O4 and γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles

Abstract

Nanoparticles’ structure, size, morphology, and surface conditions have significant influence on their performance and considerable impact on their application in biosystems. In this study some methods of nanoparticle analysis including structural x-ray diffraction, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy size distribution and morphology characterization, superconducting quantum interference device and Faraday method magnetic and temperature dependence of specific resistance measurements, infrared spectroscopy, and laser light scattering based estimation of particle size distribution are surveyed. These methods illustrate the importance of a versatile approach to nanoparticle characterization, as the basis for their selection for particular applications. Since the methods of synthesis crucially affect the nanoparticle characteristics, the presented characterization techniques could also help to choose the most appropriate one.