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Fe0.8Rh0.2 nanoparticles with an average size of 1.8 nm have been synthesized by simultaneous decomposition of stoichiometric quantities of Fe[N(Si(CH3)3)2]2 and Rh(C3H5)3 in mild conditions of temperature and hydrogen pressure, using hexadecylamine as stabilizer. These nanoparticles display a magnetization of 1.13 μB per iron atom, which is more than two times smaller than the bulk value with the same composition. No surface contamination with iron oxides was detected by Mössbauer spectroscopy. Superconducting quantum interference device and Mössbauer spectroscopy investigations reveal that the origin of this variation may be a core-shell Rh/Fe chemical arrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic nanoparticles can be efficient contrast agents for T2 weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after tuning of some key parameters such as size, surface state, colloidal stability and magnetization, thus motivating the development of new synthetic pathways. In this paper we report the effects of surface coating on the efficiency of two different types of iron based nanoparticles (NPs) as MRI contrast agents. Starting from well-defined hydrophobic iron oxide nanospheres and iron nanocubes of 13 nm size, we have used three methods to increase their hydrophilicity and transfer them into water: surface ligand modification, ligand exchange or encapsulation. The NPs obtained have been characterized by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy, and the relaxivities of their stable colloidal solutions in water have been determined. Among all samples prepared, iron nanocubes coated by silica display the highest relaxivity ( r 2 ) value: 628 s −1 mM −1 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of amine-borane as reducing agent for the synthesis of iron nanoparticles has been investigated. Large (2-4 nm) Fe nanoparticles were obtained from [Fe{N(SiMe3)2}2]. Inclusion of boron in the nanoparticles is clearly evidenced by extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and Mössbauer spectrometry. Furthermore, the reactivity of amine-borane and amino-borane complexes in the presence of pure Fe nanoparticles has been investigated. Dihydrogen evolution was observed in both cases, which suggests the potential of Fe nanoparticles to promote the release of dihydrogen from amine-borane and amino-borane moieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]