Particle size and magnetic properties dependence on growth temperature for rapid mixed co-precipitated magnetite nanoparticles

Magnetite nanoparticles have been prepared by co-precipitation using a custom-designed jet mixer to achieve rapid mixing (RM) of reactants in a timescale of milliseconds. The quick and stable nucleation obtained allows control of the particle size and size distribution via a more defined growth process. Nanoparticles of different sizes were prepared by controlling the processing temperature in the first few seconds post-mixing. The average size of the nanoparticles investigated using a Tecnai transmission electron microscope is found to increase with the temperature from 3.8 nm at 1 ± 1 °C to 10.9 nm for particles grown at 95 ± 1 °C. The temperature dependence of the size distribution follows the same trend and is explained in terms of Ostwald ripening of the magnetite nanoparticles during the co-precipitation of Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺. The magnetic properties were studied by monitoring the blocking temperature via both DC and AC techniques. Strikingly, the obtained RM particles maintain the high magnetization (as high as ∼88 A m² kg^-1 at 500 kA m^-1) while the coercivity is as low as ∼12 A m^-1 with the expected temperature dependence. Besides, by adding a drop of tetramethylammonium hydroxide, aqueous ferrofluids with long term stability are obtained, suggesting their suitability for applications in ferrofluid technology and biomedicine.