Thermally induced changes in the magnetic properties of iron oxide nanoparticles under reducing and oxidizing conditions

Abstract

Application of iron oxide nanoparticles in the fields of water purification, biomedicine or chemistry often requires controlled magnetic properties that can be modified by changing temperature and redox conditions. Therefore, this work investigates the changes in the magnetic properties of iron oxide nanoparticles in the FeOOH − Fe2O3 − Fe3O4 system (i.e. hematite, goethite, lepidocrocite, maghemite and magnetite) at heating under reducing and oxidizing conditions. The results show that heat treatment of hematite and goethite in the presence of a reducing agent (5% starch) leads to their conversion into high magnetic magnetite. The starting temperature of transformation is approximately 350 °C for both samples. The magnetization increases to 86 Am2/kg for hematite reduced at 700 °C and to 88 Am2/kg for goethite reduced at 900 °C. An intense reaction occurs within the first 10 min and then the conversion process decelerates. Thermal treatment of lepidocrocite under both oxidizing and reducing conditions leads to an increase in magnetization due to the formation of maghemite and magnetite, respectively. Regardless of the redox conditions, the formation of magnetic phase begins at a temperature of 250 °C and is associated with the formation of maghemite from lepidocrocite. Under oxidizing conditions, the magnetization begins to decrease at 350 °C, which is associated with the conversion of maghemite to hematite. On the contrary, under reducing conditions, the magnetization of lepidocrocite increases up to 900 °C, which is associated with the formation of magnetite. Maximum values of magnetization are 36 Am2/kg for maghemite obtained at 350 °C, and 88 Am2/kg for magnetite obtained at 900 °C from lepidocrocite. With the help of conventional heating, the magnetic properties of IONs can be altered by phase transformations in the FeOOH − Fe2O3 − Fe3O4 system. Temperature and redox conditions are the two most important factors controlling the transformation pathways and the magnetic properties of the resulting IONs.