One-step fabrication of Fe 2O 3/Ag core–shell composite nanoparticles at low temperature

Abstract

The Fe 2O 3/Ag core–shell composite nanoparticles were successfully prepared via a simple method at low temperature. X-ray diffraction data revealed the formation of core–shell composite nanoparticles, with Fe 2O 3 as the core and silver as the shell. The results from the transmission electron microscopy and scan electron microscopy further indicated that the composite nanoparticles were spherical with a core diameter and shell thickness of 26.0 nm and 13.5 nm, respectively. Magnetic measurements showed that the composite nanoparticles exhibited a typical ferromagnetic behavior, a specific saturation magnetization of 0.95 emu/g and an intrinsic coercivity of 104.0 Oe at room temperature. For a standard two-probe analysis at room temperature, the composite nanoparticles showed a typical conductive behavior and its conductivity was about 3.41 S/m. Moreover, this present synthesis method of Fe 2O 3/Ag core–shell composite nanoparticles shows an easy processing and does not need high-temperature calcining to attain the final product, which can be applied in a variety of areas, including catalysis, medicine, photonics, and new functional device assemblies.