Doping of inorganic materials in microreactors – preparation of Zn doped Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles

Wiles, C.; Jones, N.; Salamon, S.; Castillo, M. Escobar; Wende, H.; Francesconi, M. G.; Simmons, M. D.; Jones, Naomi; Evans, D. J.; Wiles, Charlotte; Watts, P.; Salamon, Soma; Escobar Castillo, Marianela; Wende, Heiko; Lupascu, D. C.; Francesconi, M. Grazia

Abstract

Microreactor systems are now used more and more for the continuous production of metal nanoparticles and metal oxide nanoparticles owing to the controllability of the particle size, an important property in many applications. Here, for the first time, we used microreactors to prepare metal oxide nanoparticles with controlled and varying metal stoichiometry. We prepared and characterised Zn-substituted Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles with linear increase of Zn content (ZnxFe₃−xO₄ with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.48), which causes linear increases in properties such as the saturation magnetization, relative to pure Fe₃O₄. The methodology is simple and low cost and has great potential to be adapted to the targeted doping of a vast array of other inorganic materials, allowing greater control on the chemical stoichiometry for nanoparticles prepared in microreactors.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jun 5, 2015
• Journal: Lab on a chip
• Print ISSN: 1473-0197
• Electronic ISSN: 1473-0189
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 15
• Pages: 3154-3162
• Institution Citation: Simmons, M. D., Jones, N., Evans, D. J., Wiles, C., Watts, P., Salamon, S., …Francesconi, M. G. (2015). Doping of inorganic materials in microreactors – preparation of Zn doped Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. Lab on a chip, 15(15), 3154-3162. https://doi.org/10.1039/c5lc00287g
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c5lc00287g
• Keywords: Microreactor systems , Metal oxide nanoparticles
• Publisher URL: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2015/LC/C5LC00287G#!divAbstract
• Copyright Statement: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence
• Additional Information: Copy of article first published in: Lab on a chip, 2015, v.15, issue 15.