Sonolytic Synthesis Of Single and Binary Metal-Based Magnetic Nanostructured Materials

In this project iron oxide and iron oxide-based magnetic nanomaterials were manufactured using sonolytic & chemical synthesis techniques for biomedical applications. Technology challenges involved with dimensional consistency (or the control of size and morphology), biocompatibility, and the scale up of bench-scale syntheses to produce large batch sizes of nanomaterials. When specifically considering the application of bimetallic nanomaterials, additional design considerations will include the control of relative metal compositions and requirements of production consistency regarding the layering of active metal on the surfaces of the nanomaterials. Magnetic nanomaterials were produced using wet chemistry / reactive processing and sonolytic methods. Superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles were synthesized with iron chlorides using sonochemical methods. All magnetic nanomaterials will be characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD), elemental analysis, BET surface area analysis, scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM) and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometric analysis. The effects of binary metal oxide composition on the magnetic and structural properties will be discussed.