Comparison and Characterization of Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Synthesized by Conventional Magnetic Stirring and Sonochemical Method

Abstract

In this particular study, magnetic iron oxide (Fe3O4) nano-particle synthesis was carried using conventional magnetic stirring and sonochemical (acoustic cavitation) method. Raw materials used for the synthesis include— ferrous chloride (FeCl2), ferric chloride (FeCl3) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH), where NaOH was used as a precipitating agent. The magnetic iron oxide nano-particles were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Zetasizer, Field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM) and Vibrating sample magnetometer to determine crystallite size, hydrodynamic particle size, particle size and magnetic hysteresis loop respectively. It was found that the nano-particle size obtained by both the synthesis methods ranged from 20 nm–50 nm. On comparison of the two mentioned synthesis methods, it was inferred that the acoustic cavitation method is more energy efficient and takes considerably less time for synthesis as compared to conventional magnetic stirring method.