Effect of hydrophobic coating on the magnetic anisotropy and radiofrequency heating of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles

The effect of a hydrophobic (oleic acid) coating on the magnetic properties of maghemite (gamma-Fe2O3) nanoparticles was investigated. The nanoparticles were prepared by a novel bi-phasic co-precipitation route and their properties compared with uncoated nanoparticles and nanoparticles prepared by a standard single-phase process. The oleic acid coated nanoparticles had a mean diameter of 6 nm when the two-phase precipitation procedure was used compared to 12 nm for nanoparticles prepared in a single phase under otherwise identical conditions. Super Quantum Interference Device measurements show superparamagnetism of the nanoparticles, with a saturation magnetization at 4 K to be 66.4 emu/g and 89.0 emu/g for the coated nanoparticles obtained by two- and single-phase procedure, respectively. Zero-field-cooled and field-cooled curves reveal a dramatic shift in the blocking temperature of the coated nanoparticles, and a significant change in their anisotropy. The hydrophobic nanoparticles were able to form stable ferrofluids in a range of organic solvents and show good heating rates in a 400 kHz alternating magnetic field. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.