A facile green approach for synthesizing monodisperse magnetite nanoparticles

The synthesis of monodisperse magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) has been widely investigated over the last decade. Among the various synthetic methods, thermal decomposition of iron acetylacetonate. Fe(acac)(3). or the premade iron-surfactant complex, was demonstrated to be promising to obtain monodisperse Fe3O4 NPs with controllable size and morphology. However, toxic and expensive precursors or tedious experimental procedures are normally required in these approaches. In this communication, we report a facile chemical top-down method to synthesize monodisperse magnetite NPs by using rust, which is mainly composed of gamma-Fe2O3, as the iron source and oleic acid as the capping agent. The particle size, and hence the magnetization, of NPs can be readily controlled by adjusting the rust/oleic acid ratio and reaction temperature. This process is a green chemical approach and is easy to be reproduced and scaled up, which could he developed as an effective way to convert waste materials into high quality nanocrystals