Colloidal synthesis and characterization of ultrasmall perovskite GdFeO3 nanocrystals

Synthesis of very small (about 4 nm) perovskite structured gadolinium orthoferrite nanoparticles (GdFeO3) was performed by the polyol method. The material shows promising relaxivity properties and potential as a contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging. The perovskite nanoparticles were characterized by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, magnetic resonance, and magnetization measurements. Upon heating in air at 800 degrees C for 3 h the size of the crystals increased to about 40 nm. The crystalline structure of the heat treated compound is in good agreement with perovskite GdFeO3 as the primary product. Contributions from various secondary phases were also identified, including one hitherto unknown phase with the suggested composition 'Gd3FeO6' and isostructural with Gd3GaO6. The novel 'Gd3FeO6' phase appears to be kinetically stabilized in the nano state.