Facile fabrication and characterization of amino-functionalized Fe3O4 cluster@SiO2 core/shell nanocomposite spheres

We developed a modified straightforward method for the fabrication of uniformly sized silica-coated magnetite clusters core/shell type nanocomposite particles. Proposed simple one-step processing method permits quick production of materials in high yield. The structural, surface, and magnetic characteristics of the nanocomposite particles were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR). The sphere-shaped particles almost have the average diameter of 120 nm, with a magnetic cluster core of 80 ± 15 nm, and a silica shell of 25 ± 10 nm thickness. The particles are superparamagnetic and present strong magnetization (18 emu/g) due to the fact that they possess core of the magnetic clusters. Subsequently, the silica surface of core/shell particles was amino-functionalized via N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (EDS). Findings of the present work highlight the potential for using amino-functionalized magnetic silica core/shell nanocomposite particles in biological applications since they possess useful magnetic properties and proper structure.

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► A method developed for the preparation of Fe3O4 clusters@SiO2 nanocomposites.
► This method permits production of core/shell nanomaterials with high yields.
► Resultant superparamagnetic particles are monodisperse with high magnetizations.