Ultrasonic-assisted preparation of monodisperse iron oxide nanoparticles

Monodisperse iron oxide nanoparticles with 5–20 nm can be synthesized by an inexpensive and simple ultrasonic-assisted method at low temperature. This is based on the decomposition of iron pentacarbonyl in cis–trans decalin. The high energy emitted by ultrasonic irradiation at a short time can promote the crystallization process simultaneously. At low temperature, these crystalline nucleuses can grow to monodisperse nanoparticles. Effects of ultrasonic treatment, the concentration of surfactant and the refluxing time on the size and size distribution of iron oxide nanoparticles were investigated. The morphology and crystal structure of iron oxide nanoparticles obtained at different conditions were characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscope, X-ray diffraction and selected area electron diffraction.