Applications involving iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) and nanomaterials in general, are expected to provide solutions to many problems in the fields of healthcare, energy and environment. Magnetic nanoparticles (such as IONPs) have been in the exploratory stage for cancer diagnostic (e.g.in the form of magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents) for more than three decades and treatment (e.g.via hypothermia) in the recent decade. However, success stories are rare, partly due to the limited performance of commercially available nanoparticles, related to the particle quality attributes such as size and shape, polydispersity, crystallinity and surface chemistry. Although today’s literature provides many reports on the synthesis of highly complex nanoparticles with superior properties respect the currently approved products, there seems to be a gap to the application of these materials to fully exploit their enhanced capabilities. This is due, at least partly, to obstacles such as low yield and, most importantly, the robustness and reproducibility of the synthesis method. Hence, detailed studies on nanoparticle formation mechanisms are essential to guarantee that successful syntheses are not a “one-off” but can be performed and reproduced at various research institutions at small to large scales. This work presents such a detailed study, unravelling the growth mechanism of the co-precipitation of IONPs in solution with the aid of synchrotron X-Ray diffraction.
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Image: TEM images of the nanoparticles formed after 30 s, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10 min of reaction.