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Enhancing the rate of decomposition or removal of organic dye by designing novel nanostructures is a subject of intensive research aimed at improving waste-water treatment in the textile and pharmaceutical industries. Despite radical progress in this challenging area using iron-based nanostructures, enhancing stability and dye adsorption performance is highly desirable. In the present manuscript alkali cations are incorporated into iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) to tailor their structural and magnetic properties and to magnify methyl blue (MB) removal/decomposition capability. The process automatically functionalizes the IONPs without any additional steps. The plausible mechanisms proposed for IONPs incubated in alkali chloride and hydroxide solutions are based on structural investigation and correlated with the removal/adsorption capabilities. The MB adsorption kinetics of the incubated IONPs is elucidated by the pseudo second-order reaction model. Not only are the functional groups of –OH and –Cl attached to the surface of the NPs, the present investigation also reveals that the presence of alkali cations significantly influences the MB adsorption kinetics and correlates with the cation content and atomic polarizability.

Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles on a zeolite template have been synthesized using wet chemical approach. The average particle size initially decreases from 8.5 to 6 nm (increasing zeolite concentration from 0 to 75 mg) but increases to 11 nm for higher zeolite concentration (100 mg). Room temperature magnetization curves show an initial decrease in saturation magnetization from 62 to 42 emu per gram due to decrease in particle size as well as increase in contribution from nonmagnetic zeolite template. Further increase in zeolite concentration to 100 mg results in a significant increase in saturation magnetization from 42 to 51 emu per gram. Calorimetric studies show a continuous enhancement in γ-Fe2O3 to α-Fe2O3 phase transition temperature from 590 to 715 °C by increasing the zeolite concentration from 0 to 75 gm. The exothermic peak corresponding to the γ-Fe2O3 to α-Fe2O3 phase transition has been completely suppressed for nanoparticles prepared in presence of 100 mg of zeolite. Mossbauer spectra of as-synthesized nanoparticles show an increase of superparamagnetic components from 7 to 36% corresponding to increase in zeolite concentration from 0 to 100 mg. Mossbauer spectra of pure Fe3O4 nanoparticles annealed at 500 °C shows formation of pure α-Fe2O3 phase and Mossbauer spectra of particles prepared in presence of 25 mg shows only 18% of α-Fe2O3 phase after annealing at 550 °C. Further increase in zeolite concentration to 50 and 75 mg (annealed at 550 °C) leads to pure γ-Fe2O3. Annealing of Fe3O4 nanoparticles prepared in the presence of 100 mg of zeolite at 650 °C shows formation of only 8% α-Fe2O3 phase. Our results show an easy and effective method to enhance the thermal stability of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles making it suitable for high temperature applications.

The magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (7 nm average diameter) have been synthesized and stably-suspended in a natural copaiba oil. The morphological and structural characteristics of the nanosized magnetite and the colloidal stability of the as-produced magnetic fluid sample were investigated using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, photoacoustic spectroscopy and Mossbauer spectroscopy.

In this study the photoacoustic spectroscopy was used to investigate the interaction between colloidal suspended nanosized maghemite particles and molecules present in mamona oil (ricinus communis L.). Maghemite nanoparticles were used to produce a magnetic fluid sample dispersed in mamona oil (MF-Mamona oil). In the L-band region (600 to 900 nm) of the photoacoustic spectra we found the photoacustic signal of sample MF-Mamona oil enhanced with respect to the signal of the purified mamona oil. This finding is claimed to be the signature of the strong interaction between the mamona oil's molecules and the solid surface provided by the suspended nanosized maghemite particles.