Thermal Plasma Synthesis of Magnetic Nanoparticles

Published

October 16, 2008

Author(s)

J H. Scott, S. A. Majetich, Z Turgut, M E. McHenry, K Chowdary, M I. Boulos

Abstract

A scalable synthesis route for the production of bare and carbon-coated metal nanoparticles is presented. Magnetic nanoparticles composed of pure Fe, pure Co, and FeCo alloys ranging from Fe₅₀Co₅₀ to Fe₇₅Co₂₅ are produced using a radio frequency (RF) plasma torch. By injecting acetylene into the plasma, the nanoparticles can optionally be encapsulated in a protective coating of carbon to improve their oxidation resistance. Using transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and x-ray microanalysis to characterize the nanoparticle powder, a comparison of mixed elemental precursors and pre-alloyed precursors indicates that the starting material homogeneity can affect the variation in composition of the product nanoparticles.

Citation

Journal of Materials Research

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

Fe-Co alloy, nanoparticles, SEM, TEM, thermal plasma synthesis, x-ray diffraction, x-ray microanalysis

Citation

Scott, J. , Majetich, S. , Turgut, Z. , McHenry, M. , Chowdary, K. and Boulos, M. (2008), Thermal Plasma Synthesis of Magnetic Nanoparticles, Journal of Materials Research (Accessed October 8, 2025)