Clustering Behavior in Aqueous Slurry of Magnetite Nanoparticles at Different Temperatures by Photon Scattering

ABSTRACTThis paper describes �one-pot� diethylene glycol assisted chemical route for the synthesis of ultra-stable aqueous Fe3O4 nanoparticle dispersion with narrow size distribution. The resulting particles were characterized in terms of structure, morphology, particle size, z eta potential, dispersibility and colloidal properties. Thermal analysis as well as FTIR data indicated the presence of organic content in the material. The potential for obtaining a ferrofluid was also demonst rated and its colloidal stability was studied at different temperatures over months by observing hydrodynamic size and surface charge by photon correlation spectroscopy. Outer shell of surface active DEG used in the present study not only provided the stability to produce �one-shell cluster dispersion�, which was found to have no effect on heating and magnetic field, but also can be highly useful for biomedical applications due to their known bio-compatibility