Modified polyol route for synthesis of Fe₃O₄/Ag and α-Fe/Ag nanocomposite

We developed a new one-pot synthesis method for realizing silver coated magnetite nanocomposite by way of a modified polyol process. In this reaction, polyethylene glycol was used as a solvent media and it was observed to play a key role to act as a reducing agent, stabilizer as well as a linker for silver coating simultaneously. Further, we could successfully transfer the phase from Fe₃O₄/Ag to α-Fe/Ag by using the annealing system at 600°C in presence of hydrogen gas. X-ray diffraction data was independently used to confirm the formation of both the phases of Fe₃O₄/Ag and α-Fe/Ag. These Fe₃O₄/Ag and α-Fe/Ag samples were also characterized using transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques and compared the results with those of seed Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. The magnetic properties of the composites, Fe₃O₄/Ag and α-Fe/Ag with different Ag concentrations, along with the seed Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were measured using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) at room temperature. Maximum magnetization values of 61.3 emu/g and 175.1 emu/g were observed for the samples with 1 mL Ag concentrations of Fe₃O₄/Ag and α-Fe/Ag, respectively. This new synthesis method looks to be a promising route for facile synthesis of different magnetic nanocomposites suitable for bioapplications.