Physicochemical properties and AC magnetic field induced heating properties of solvothermally prepared thiospinel: Fe₃S₄ (greigite) nanoparticles

Abstract

The presence of greigite (Fe3S4) nanoparticles in bacterial magnetosomes, and its lower toxicity have emerged as favourable aspects for its potential applications in various bio-medical applications, including magnetic hyperthermia. Despite having a number of intriguing features, systematic research on the heating efficiency of Fe3S4 nanoparticles (MNPs) in an AC magnetic field is scarce, which is primarily due to the difficulties in preparing phase pure greigite MNPs. In this study, greigite MNPs are prepared using a solvothermal approach, utilizing ethylene glycol as a solvent, and surface functionalized with varied concentrations of poly vinyl alcohol (PVA). Studies using powder X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy demonstrate the development of crystalline Fe3S4 MNPs (average crystallite size: 19–23 nm) with flaky or flower-like morphology. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that the lattice is composed primarily of iron and sulphur. The existence of bio-compatible PVA polymer on the surface of the coated MNPs is confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. For the uncoated MNPs, the magnetization at 90 kOe and the effective anisotropy energy density values are found to be ~ 5.2 emu/g and ~ 22.3 kJ/m3, respectively. Due to improved colloidal stability, magneto-calorimetric experiments reveal higher AC magnetic field induced heating efficiency for PVA-coated MNPs. The highest specific absorption rate (SAR) is obtained as ~ 67.8 ± 2.6 W/gFe in the current study, which is several times higher than the previously published values for synthetic Fe3S4 MNPs. Furthermore, for samples with comparable saturation magnetization and crystallite size, SAR is found to increase with initial susceptibility. The in vitro cytotoxicity studies show good bio-compatibility for the prepared greigite MNPs. The experimental findings provide deeper insights into the preparation of Fe3S4 MNPs using a simple solvothermal technique, and its AC magnetic field induced heating efficiency.