Magnetic nanocomposite spinel and FeCo core-shell and mesoporous systems

The fabrication of condensed silica and mesoporous silica coated spinel CoFe2O4 and FeCo alloy magnetic nanocomposites are reported. The encapsulation of well-defined 5 nm thick uniform silica layer on CoFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles was performed. The formation of mesopores in the shell was a consequence of removal of organic group of the precursor through annealing. The NiO nanoparticles were loaded into the mesoporous silica. The mesoporous silica shells leads to a larger coercivity than that of pure CoFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles due to the decrease of interparticle interactions and magneto-elastic anisotropy. In addition, the FeCo nanoparticles were coated by condensed and mesoporous silica. The condensed silica can protect the reactive FeCo alloy from oxidation up to 300 degrees C. However, saturation magnetization of FeCo nanoparticles coated by silica after 400 C annealing is dramatically decreased due to the oxidation of the FeCo core. The mesoporous silica coated magnetic nanostructure loaded with NiO as a final product could be used in the field of biomedical applications. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.