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S e p t e m b e r 2 4 - 2 6 , 2 0 1 8 | B u d a p e s t , H u n g a r y
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alliedacademies.comYEARS
Magnetic Materials 2018
Materials Science and Nanotechnology
|
Volume 2
MAGNETISM AND
MAGNETIC MATERIALS
2
nd
International Conference on
Rafael A Prato M et al., Mater Sci Nanotechnol 2018, Volume 2
NANOMAGNETITE MAGNETIZATION ON
DEMAND VIA A NOVEL ELECTROSYNTHESIS
ROUTE
Rafael A Prato M
1,4
, V Van Vught
1
, P Marin
2,3
, S Eggermont
4
J Fransaer
4
and
X Dominguez-Benetton
1
1
Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Belgium
2
Instituto de Magnetismo Aplicado, Spain
3
UCM, Spain
4
KU Leuven, Belgium
A
fast, environmentally friendly, room-temperature electrosynthesis route
for magnetite nanocrystals is presented here. We use a gas diffusion
electrode (GDE) to generate oxidants and hydroxide in-situ from air, enabling
an oxidative electrosynthesis of particles from a single iron salt (FeCl
2
). Upon
applying a potential of -350 mV vs. Ag/AgCl at the GDE, oxygen is reduced
to reactive oxygen species (ROS) which triggers a controlled oxidation of
Fe
2+
to Fe
3+
, FeOOH and finally Fe
3-x
O
4
are formed. The composition of non-
stoichiometric magnetite can be finely controlled with the charge applied,
which in turn determines the magnetic properties of the samples. In turn,
the size of the nanocrystals can be tuned from 5 to 20 nm by changing the
precursor concentration. The nanocrystals possess up to 85% of the bulk
saturation magnetization of pure magnetite and minimal coercivity. Using
air, NaCl and only FeCl
2
, a remarkable level of control over the size and
composition of nanomagnetite is achieved at room-temperature and in a fast,
environmentally friendly, and reproducible manner.
Rafael A Prato M has completed his BSc in Chemical
Engineering at the University of California Santa Bar-
bara, USA, and his MSc in Chemistry at the Universi-
ty of Oslo, Norway. He is currently pursuing a PhD in
Materials Engineering jointly at the KU Leuven and the
Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO),
Belgium.
Rafael.prato@vito.comBIOGRAPHY