Abstract
Microreactor systems are now used more and more for the continuous production of metal nanoparticles and metal oxide nanoparticles owing to the controllability of the particle size, an important property in many applications. Here, for the first time, we used microreactors to prepare metal oxide nanoparticles with controlled and varying metal stoichiometry. We prepared and characterised Zn-substituted Fe3O4 nanoparticles with linear increase of Zn content (ZnxFe3-xO4 with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.48), which causes linear increases in properties such as the saturation magnetization, relative to pure Fe3O4. The methodology is simple and low cost and has great potential to be adapted to the targeted doping of a vast array of other inorganic materials, allowing greater control on the chemical stoichiometry for nanoparticles prepared in microreactors.
Highlights
Microreactors are used as a common tool for the study and optimization of a wide variety of synthetic organic reactions, and increasingly in the synthesis of organic and inorganic nanoparticles
The Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONs) obtained were of comparable size and polydispersity to those previously prepared in ad hoc built continuous flow reactors, which constituted the first seminal works, but were somehow limited in the fact that upscaling would be complex with homemade reactors.[11,13,28,29]
Microreactors have been used for the synthesis of inorganic compounds, but this is the first report of chemical doping achieved via this technique
Summary
Microreactors are used as a common tool for the study and optimization of a wide variety of synthetic organic reactions, and increasingly in the synthesis of organic and inorganic nanoparticles. We report a simple one-step synthetic method to prepare ZnxFe3−xO4 samples with controlled and varied Zn content (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) using microreactors.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
