Synthesis of functionalized magnetite nanoparticles using only oleic acid and iron (III) acetylacetonate

The solvothermal method is a way to obtain magnetite nanoparticles with uniformity in shape and size, good dispersibility and functionalized surface. These properties are desirable in many applications in materials science and medical area. Although methods for obtaining nanoparticles with these properties are reported, the most their use several reagents to act as solvent, surfactant and reducing agent, which makes the synthesis process more difficult and expensive. In this paper, we introduced a simple method for the preparation of magnetite nanoparticles using only iron (III) acetylacetonate as metal precursor and oleic acid for all the other functions. This is possible due the constant liberation of the acetylacetone formed in the reaction, which favors the formation of the oleate, the responsible for the conditions required to obtain magnetite nanoparticles smaller than 20 nm. By this method, nanoparticles were obtained with an average size of 17 nm in a narrow size distribution, uniformity of morphology, high crystallinity and functionalized surface. The organic capping layer allows the preparation of stable colloidal solutions in organic solvents and facilitates the posterior use of nanoparticles in films, ferrofluids and nanocomposite preparation.