Hung Manh Do

Facile and solvent-free routes for the synthesis of size-controllable Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles

Magnetite nanoparticles are one of the most important materials that are widely used in both medically diagnostic and therapeutic research. In this paper, we present some facile and non-toxic synthetic approaches for size-controllable preparations of magnetite nanoparticles, which are appropriate for biomedical applications, namely (i) co-precipitation; (ii) reduction‐precipitation and (iii) oxidation‐precipitation. Magnetic characterizations of the obtained nanoparticles have been studied and discussed. The oxidation precipitation route was chosen for investigation of the dependence of kinetic driven activation energy and that of coercive force on particle size (and temperature) during the course of the reaction. The structural‐magnetic behavior was also correlated. Being solvent and surfactant-free, these methods are advantageous for synthesis and further functionalization towards biomedical applications.

The effect of artificial boundary grain on the magneto- and electro-transport properties of (1 − x)La0.7Ca0.3MnO3+xA (A=Al2O3 and Ag) nanocomposite

The magneto- and electro-transport properties of two series of nanocrystalline (1−x)La0.7Ca0.3MnO3+xA (A: Al2O3 and Ag) composites have been systematically and thoroughly studied. The observed electronic transport behavior over the whole temperature range (5–300 K), especially the change in metal–insulator transition temperature with increasing Al2O3 and Ag content while the ferromagnetic–paramagnetic transition remained unaffected, was explained by applying a two-component phenomenological model. We have attributed the unusual low-temperature resistivity upturn of composites to a change in charging energy. Most interestingly, magneto-transport measurements showed that the low-field magnetoresistance (LFMR), as well as the high-field magnetoresistance (HFMR), displayed a Curie–Weiss-like law behavior. Basing on the spin-polarized transport of conduction electrons at the grain boundaries, we have analyzed our experimental data and found that the temperature dependence of low- and high-field magnetoresistance is controlled predominantly by the nature of the temperature response of surface magnetization of particles. The competition between grain-boundary pinning strength (k), magnetic field and thermal energy (kBT) created the temperature sensitive behavior of magnetoresistance as well as that of surface spin susceptibility (χ b).

Magnetic heating characteristics of La0.7SrxCa0.3-xMnO3 nanoparticles fabricated by a high energy mechanical milling method

Magnetic inductive heating (MIH) of nanoparticles (NPs) attracts considerable research attention, first because of its application to hyperthermia in biological tissues. Most reports so far have dealt with magnetite NPs with a Curie temperature, TC, of as high as above 500 °C. In this paper, we present results of a MIH study in an ac field of frequency 219 and 236 kHz and strength of 40–100 Oe for several samples of La0.7SrxCa0.3−x MnO3 NPs of TC in the region of hyperthermia, that is some tens of degrees above human body temperature. The particle materials were fabricated by a high energy mechanical milling method combined with calcining at various temperatures in the range of 600–900 °C. The heating temperatures of the samples were observed to saturate at a field irradiating time of less than 10 min and at temperatures ranging from 40 to 75 °C depending on the strontium content, the NP concentration, c, and the field parameters. A sudden change in heating rate was clearly revealed in several heating curves for the case of low applied field and low c, which was considered to be related to the onset of a strong decrease in zero-field cooling (ZFC) magnetization of NPs. The initial temperature increase slope, dT/dt, and the saturation temperature, Ts will be analyzed as dependent on the NP concentration. Field dependences of the specific loss power will be analyzed and discussed for various concentrations, c. Evidence of fluid viscosity influence will also be noted.

Synthesis and magnetic heating characteristics of thermoresponsive poly (N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid)/nano Fe3O4 nanparticles

In this work the synthesis of thermo-sensitive polymer coated magnetic nanoparticles and their inductive heating have been studied. Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) (NA) polymers were first synthesized by emulsion polymerization of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (NIP) in water and followed by encapsulating magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). As increasing the concentration of acrylic acid (AA), the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) increased, so that with 150% of AA (molar ratio) the LCST reached 42 °C, which is close to the temperature of hyperthermia treatment. Magnetization and ac susceptibility measurements were conducted to depict some characteristics of the NIP-MNPs and NA-MNPs that are related with the loss power. Attempts to analyze the rate of magnetic inductive heating were performed to show the Brownian relaxation origin of additional heat source created by the magnetite nanoparticles capped with thermosensitive polymers. Our results suggest that these thermo-sensitive polymer-coated magnetic nanoparticles show a potential for hyperthermia and drug delivery application.

Synthesis of vanadium-modified rutile TiO2 nanoparticle by reactive grinding method and its photocatalytic activity under solar light at room temperature

Rutile TiO2 was synthesized by sol–gel method. Vanadium-doped rutile TiO2 nanoparticle was obtained by reactive grinding method. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under solar light at room temperature. The results show that after 4 h of milling the particle size of rutile decreased from 130 to 14 nm and the Brunauer–Emmet–Teller (BET) specific surface area increased from 7.18 to 15.12 m2 g−1. The vanadium doping promoted the particle growth and the particle size of vanadium-modified rutile TiO2 obtained by 4 h of milling is about 22 nm, but the BET specific surface area increased from 15.12 m2 g−1 for TiO2 to 20.8 m2 g−1 for vanadium-doped TiO2 under the same conditions. The 5% vanadium-doped rutile possessed better absorption ability of solar light; the calculated band gap energy value is 2.7 eV. The degradation rate of MB on vanadium-doped rutile TiO2 was higher than that of pure rutile obtained after the same time of milling.