Ferrofluids from prism-like nanoparticles

Decomposition of iron pentacarbonyl in kerosene in the presence of octanoic acid and bis-2-ethylhexylamine leads to very monodisperse iron nanoparticles and thus to monodisperse magnetic nanoparticles. These latter can be spherical or appear as triangles on MET pictures. SAXS and AFM indicate that particles are more likely prisms. They can be dispersed in cyclohexane to produce ferrofluids. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.