Abstract

Iron-oxide nanoparticles are an intriguing material with many biological and environmental applications. Characterization of nanoparticles is both a challenging and developing science. Mossbauer spectroscopy can be used to provide information about the valence state and molecular environment of atoms in solid matrices. The components of iron in iron-oxides as nanoparticles present an array of characteristics dependent on both particle size and crystallographic environments containing the iron atoms. Solid nanoparticles in colloidal suspensions present several special challenges to obtain information useful for characterizations. Physical properties of individual components of iron in these nanoparticles that are measurable include oxidation state, quadrupole splitting and magnetic order states. A complex environment for iron within nanoparticles protected in a polymer coating and suspended as a colloid within organic solvents are characterized, to assist chemical engineers in assessing the quality of products and processes being developed. Mossbauer spectroscopy is able to discern product components with iron atoms in both tetrahedral and octahedral environments, magnetically ordered and paramagnetic states and their relative contributions, within assembled nanoparticles. These elucidated components suggest the identities and contributions to the total of iron- oxide phases in the nanoparticles.

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