Synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles with a ceramic membrane reactor: Effects on particles size distribution

Abstract

A novel approach for the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles of narrow particle size distribution by combining the chemical co-precipitation method with a ceramic membrane reactor is presented. This study investigated the impact of the initial ionic strength of the iron precursors and the rate of precipitating agent addition on the size and particle size distribution of the obtained products. The synthesized nanoparticles, with high purity Fe3O4 crystalline phase, exhibited crystalline domain sizes between 11 - 17 nm and the particle size distributions showed polydispersity indices between 11 and 20%, considerably lower compared to conventional processes. The effectiveness of the membrane reactor coupling was demonstrated by intensifying the micromixing processes and providing a uniform, stable, and confined supersaturated environment to generate nanoparticles with narrow size distributions.