title: Morphological and magnetic properties of superparamagnetic carbon-coated Fe nanoparticles produced by arc discharge.
abstract: Spherical carbon coated iron particles of nanometric diameter in the 5-10 nm range have been produced by arc discharge at near-atmospheric pressure conditions (using 5-8 x 10(4) Pa of He). The particles exhibit a crystalline dense iron core with an average diameter of 7.4 +/- 2.0 nm surrounded by a sealed carbon shell, shown by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected-area diffraction (SAED), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (STEM-EDX) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). The SAED, EDX and EELS results indicate a lack of traces of core oxidized phases showing an efficient protection role of the carbon shell. The magnetic properties of the nanoparticles have been investigated in the 5-300 K temperature range using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). The results reveal a superparamagnetic behaviour with an average monodomain diameter of 7.6 nm of the nanoparticles. The zero field cooled and field cooled (ZFC-FC) magnetization curves show a blocking temperature (T(B)) at room temperature very suitable for biomedical applications (drug delivery, magnetic resonance imaging, hyperthermia).
authors.affiliation: FEMAN Group, IN2UB, Dep. Física Aplicada i Optica, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès, 1, E08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aguiló-Aguayo
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Inestrosa-Izurieta
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García-Céspedes
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bertran