Study of molecular surface coating on the stability of maghemite nanoparticles

In this study gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticle, surface-coated with increasing amount of oleic acid, have been prepared while the stability against particle degradation under laser excitation intensity was investigated. Maghemite nanoparticle was obtained via oxidation of magnetite nanoparticle, the latter synthesized by co-precipitation of Fe (II) and Fe (III) ions in alkaline medium. By varying the experimental conditions of surface-coating maghemite nanoparticles with oleic acid, samples with different grafting coefficient were obtained and investigated using X-ray diffraction and different spectroscopic techniques, namely Raman, Mossbauer, and infrared. The amount of oleic acid adsorbed on the maghemite surface was estimated via the carbon content obtained from elemental analysis. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.