Synthesis of superparamagnetic nanoparticles for desalination purposes

The aim of this study is to describe the synthetic procedure of superparamagnetic nanoparticles of magnetite and maghemite and to use the magnetic merit of thesenano-sized ferrite particles coated byorganic substances having good water solubility to desalinate saline water. The idea derives from the experimental results of research groups using magnetic particles covered by polymers to increase the efficiency of membranes in forward osmosis desalination plants. The magnetic particles can beseparatedfrom water by an external magnet field easily.As magnetic particles, Fe3O4 can be prepared in different sizes from nano- to microscale by the help of coprecipitation or thermal decomposition techniques. These superparamagnetic nanoparticles are wellpromising candidates for use in desalination purposes either from own or after their fabrication with polymer molecules, such as cyclodexrins, in their original form or in a modified one in order to enhance their water solubility, according to some preliminary experimental results found by our research team but not referred here. Herein, various inexpensive synthetic routes for superparamagnetic nanoparticles of magnetite(Fe3O4) and maghemite (γ -Fe2O3) are described, as well as the characterization results of the produced nanoparticles with XRD, TEM, FT-IR, RAMAN, DFT and TGA/DTG analytical techniques are also referred