Iron
oxide nanoparticles (NPs) have been extensively used for both
health and technological applications. The control over their morphology,
crystal microstructure, and oxidation state is of great importance
to optimize their final use. However, while mature in understanding,
it is still far from complete. Here we report on the effect of the
amount of 1,2-hexadecanediol and/or 1-octadecene in the reaction mixture
on the thermal decomposition of iron(III) acetylacetonate in oleic
acid for two series of iron oxide NPs with sizes ranging from 6 to
48 nm. We show that a low amount of either compound leads to both
large, mixed-phase NPs composed of magnetite (Fe3O4) and wüstite (FeO) and high reaction yields. In contrast,
a higher amount of either 1,2-hexadecanediol or 1-octadecene gives
rise to smaller, single-phase NPs with moderate reaction yields. By
infrared spectroscopy, we have elucidated the role of 1,2-hexadecanediol,
which mediates the particle nucleation and growth. Finally, we have
correlated the magnetic response and the structural features of the
NPs for the two series of samples.
A novel hybrid NP-Dy12 system presents an enhancement of the magnetization hysteresis with respect to the isolated components while retaining the morphological characteristics of the parent NPs.
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