Ahmed A. El-Gendy

Enhanced magnetic anisotropy in cobalt-carbide nanoparticles

An outstanding problem in nano-magnetism is to stabilize the magnetic order in nanoparticles at room temperatures. For ordinary ferromagnetic materials, reduction in size leads to a decrease in the magnetic anisotropy resulting in superparamagnetic relaxations at nanoscopic sizes. In this work, we demonstrate that using wet chemical synthesis, it is possible to stabilize cobalt carbide nanoparticles which have blocking temperatures exceeding 570 K even for particles with magnetic domains of 8 nm. First principles theoretical investigations show that the observed behavior is rooted in the giant magnetocrystalline anisotropies due to controlled mixing between C p- and Co d-states.

Synthesis and toxicity characterization of carbon coated iron oxide nanoparticles with highly defined size distributions.

BACKGROUND Iron oxide nanoparticles hold great promise for future biomedical applications. To this end numerous studies on iron oxide nanoparticles have been conducted. One aspect these studies reveal is that nanoparticle size and shape can trigger different cellular responses through endocytic pathways, cell viability and early apoptosis. However, systematic studies investigating the size dependence of iron oxide nanoparticles with highly defined diameters across multiple cells lines are not available yet. METHODS Iron oxide nanoparticles with well-defined size distributions were prepared. All samples were thoroughly characterized and the cytotoxicity for four standard cell lines (HeLa Kyoto, human osteosarcoma (U2OS), mouse fibroblasts (NIH 3T3) and mouse macrophages (J7442)) where investigated. RESULTS Our findings show that small differences in size distribution (ca. 10nm) of iron oxide nanoparticles do not influence cytotoxicity, while uptake is size dependent. Cytotoxicity is dose-dependent. Broad distributions of nanoparticles are more easily internalized as compared to the narrow distributions for two of the cell lines tested (HeLa Kyoto and mouse macrophages (J7442)). CONCLUSION The data indicate that it is not feasible to probe changes in cytotoxicity within a small size range (10nm). However, TEM investigations of the nanoparticles indicate that cellular uptake is size dependent. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE The present work compares narrow and broad distributions for various samples of carbon-coated iron oxide nanoparticles. The data highlights that cells differentiate between nanoparticle sizes as indicated by differences in cellular uptake. This information provides valuable knowledge to better understand the interaction of nanoparticles and cells.

Experimental evidence for the formation of CoFe2C phase with colossal magnetocrystalline-anisotropy

Attainment of magnetic order in nanoparticles at room temperature is an issue of critical importance for many different technologies. For ordinary ferromagnetic materials, a reduction in size leads to decreased magnetic anisotropy and results in superparamagnetic relaxations. If, instead, anisotropy could be enhanced at reduced particle sizes, then it would be possible to attain stable magnetic order at room temperature. Herein, we provide experimental evidence substantiating the synthesis of a cobalt iron carbide phase (CoFe2C) of nanoparticles. Structural characterization of the CoFe2C carbide phase was performed by transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction and energy electron spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction was also performed as a complimentary analysis. Magnetic characterization of the carbide phase revealed a blocking temperature, TB, of 790 K for particles with a domain size as small as 5 ± 1 nm. The particles have magnetocrystalline anisotropy of 4.6 ± 2 × 106 J/m3, which is ten times ...

Nanostructured D022-Mn3Ga with high coercivity

The microstructural and magnetic properties of Mn3Ga alloys with D022 phase have been investigated. Mn3Ga alloys with a nearly pure D022 phase were obtained via a heat treatment of ground arc-melted ingot powders with a cubic structure. X-ray difraction results show the formation of D022 after annealing the as-prepared ingot at 673 K for different annealing time intervals. It was found that the annealed samples are magnetically hard with a high HC of 11 kOe and a saturation magnetization of 20 emu g−1 at 300 K. Microstructure studies on the annealed powders showed the presence of small grains with size below 30 nm.

Room Temperature Synthesis of Highly Magnetic Cobalt Nanoparticles by Continuous Flow in a Microfluidic Reactor

Cobalt nanoparticles were synthesized using continuous-flow (CF) chemistry in a stainless steel microreactor for the first time at high output based on the ethanol hydrazine alkaline system (EHAS) producing a yield as high as 1 g per hour [1, 2]. Continuous-flow (CF) synthetic chemistry provides uninterrupted product formation allowing for advantages including decreased preparation time, improved product quality, and greater efficiency. This successful synthetic framework in continuous-flow of magnetic Co nanoparticles indicates feasibility for scaled-up production. The average particle size by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the as-synthesized cobalt was 30±10 nm, average crystallite size by Scherrer analysis (fcc phase) was 15±2 nm, and the estimated magnetic core size was 6±1 nm. Elemental surface analysis (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy [XPS]) indicates a thin CoO surface layer. Assynthesized cobalt nanoparticles possessed a saturation magnetization (Ms) of 125±1 emu/g and coercivity (Hc) of 120±5 Oe. The actual Ms is expected to be greater since the as-synthesized cobalt mass was not weight-corrected (nonmagnetic mass: reaction by-products, solvent, etc.). Our novel high-output, continuous-flow production (>1 g/hr) of highly magnetic cobalt nanoparticles opens an avenue toward industrial-scale production of several other single element magnetic nanomaterials.

High Coercivity in Annealed Melt-Spun Mn-Ga Ribbons

Mn-Ga is a complex system due to the large number of phases which can be formed at different alloy compositions. In this paper, we present a simple method to prepare Mn_2-3Ga alloys with a majority D0₂₂ phase by heat treating melt-spun ribbons. X-ray diffraction results show the formation of D0₂₂ after annealing the as-prepared ribbons with the D0₁₉ structure at 450 °C for different times. This transformation results in a high H_C of 8 kOe and a magnetization of 10 emu/g, at room temperature. SEM images in the as-prepared ribbons show the presence of a microrod-like D0₁₉ microstructure with the size of the rods in the range of 0.5-1 μm. This homogeneous structure, after annealing for long time is transformed to D0₂₂ spherical shape nanoparticles with an average size below 100 nm. Samples annealed further at 600 °C for 16 h showed a higher magnetization of 18 emu/g.

Enhancement of 𝜷-phase in PVDF films embedded with ferromagnetic Gd5Si4 nanoparticles for piezoelectric energy harvesting

Self-polarized Gd5Si4-polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanocomposite films have been synthesized via a facile phase-inversion technique. For the 5 wt% Gd5Si4-PVDF films, the enhancement of the piezoelectric β-phase and crystallinity are confirmed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy (phase fraction, Fβ, of 81% as compared to 49% for pristine PVDF) and differential scanning calorimetry (crystallinity, ΔXc, of 58% as compared to 46% for pristine PVDF), respectively. The Gd5Si4 magnetic nanoparticles, prepared using high-energy ball milling were characterized using Dynamic Light Scattering and Vibrating Sample Magnetometry (VSM) to reveal a particle size of ∼470 nm with a high magnetization of 11 emu/g. The VSM analysis of free-standing Gd5Si4-PVDF films revealed that while the pristine PVDF membrane shows weak diamagnetic behavior, the Gd5Si4-PVDF films loaded at 2.5 wt% and 5 wt% Gd5Si4 show enhanced ferromagnetic behavior with paramagnetic contribution from Gd5Si3 phase. The interfacial inte...

Microbial-Physical Synthesis of Fe and Fe3O4 Magnetic Nanoparticles Using Aspergillus niger YESM1 and Supercritical Condition of Ethanol

Magnetic Fe and Fe3O4 magnetite nanoparticles are successfully synthesized using Aspergillus niger YESM 1 and supercritical condition of liquids. Aspergillus niger is used for decomposition of FeSO4 and FeCl3 to FeS and Fe2O3, respectively. The produced particles are exposed to supercritical condition of ethanol for 1 hour at 300°C and pressure of 850 psi. The phase structure and the morphology measurements yield pure iron and major Fe3O4 spherical nanoparticles with average size of 18 and 50 nm, respectively. The crystal size amounts to 9 nm for Fe and 8 nm for Fe3O4. The magnetic properties are measured to exhibit superparamagnetic- and ferromagnetic-like behaviors for Fe and Fe3O4 nanoparticles, respectively. The saturation magnetization amounts to 112 and 68 emu/g for Fe and Fe3O4, respectively. The obtained results open new route for using the biophysical method for large-scale production of highly magnetic nanoparticles to be used for biomedical applications.

Computational analysis of transcranial magnetic stimulation in the presence of deep brain stimulation probes

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation is an emerging non-invasive treatment for depression, Parkinson’s disease, and a variety of other neurological disorders. Many Parkinson’s patients receive the treatment known as Deep Brain Stimulation, but often require additional therapy for speech and swallowing impairment. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation has been explored as a possible treatment by stimulating the mouth motor area of the brain. We have calculated induced electric field, magnetic field, and temperature distributions in the brain using finite element analysis and anatomically realistic heterogeneous head models fitted with Deep Brain Stimulation leads. A Figure of 8 coil, current of 5000 A, and frequency of 2.5 kHz are used as simulation parameters. Results suggest that Deep Brain Stimulation leads cause surrounding tissues to experience slightly increased E-field (ΔEmax=30 V/m), but not exceeding the nominal values induced in brain tissue by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation without leads (215 V/m). ...

Effect of anatomical variability in brain on transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation is a non-invasive clinical therapy used to treat depression and migraine, and shows further promise as treatment for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurological disorders. However, it is yet unclear as to how anatomical differences may affect stimulation from this treatment. We use finite element analysis to model and analyze the results of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in various head models. A number of heterogeneous head models have been developed using MRI data of real patients, including healthy individuals as well as patients of Parkinson’s disease. Simulations of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation performed on 22 anatomically different models highlight the differences in induced stimulation. A standard Figure of 8 coil is used with frequency 2.5 kHz, placed 5 mm above the head. We compare cortical stimulation, volume of brain tissue stimulated, specificity, and maximum E-field induced in the brain for models ranging from ages 20 to 60. Resul...