Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2015) 130: 144
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2015-15144-y

Regular Article

Synthesis and characterization of Fe₃O₄/TiO₂ magnetic and photocatalyst bifunctional core-shell with superparamagnetic performance

¹ Department of physics, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
² Nanoscience Center, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
³ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Vali-E-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, Iran

^* e-mail: behrad.fatemeh88@gmail.com

Received: 2 February 2015
Revised: 28 April 2015
Accepted: 29 June 2015
Published online: 23 July 2015

Abstract

In this research a simple method has been presented to coat magnetic nanoparticles with TiO₂. Firstly, Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles have been prepared using a co-precipitation method. Thereafter, in order to achieve particles with better dispersibility, the surface of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles has been modified with the help of trisodium citrate as stabilizer. Afterward, Fe₃O₄ / TiO₂ core-shell nanocomposites were synthesized by the Stöber method. The prepared samples were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). XRD results show the formation of two compounds of crystalline magnetite and brookite-type TiO₂ . TEM images confirmed the formation of their core-shell structure. The surface modification of magnetite nanoparticles using trisodium citrate was confirmed by FTIR analysis. Magnetic studies also indicated that prepared core-shells exhibit superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature. Combining this property with the photocatalytic ability of TiO₂ could result in a synthesized nanocomposite with different medical and environmental applications.