In this study, this SiO2 has been coated on the surface of Fe3O4 (Fe3O4@SiO2) by hydrolysis and condensation of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) under alkaline medium at 80oC. It was found that only 500 mL TEOS is required to obtain the best coated Fe3O4 core structures which has been confirmed from its TEM micrograph. FTIR analyses revealed the formation of Si-O-Si bonds at 1084.2–1101.4 cm-1 hence confirmed that SiO2 has been successfully coated the Fe3O4 core. From the FESEM analyses, the average size of silica was ~ 50 -70 nm. EDX of the Fe3O4@SiO2 showed that silica had been effectively bonded onto the surface of Fe3O4. The VSM measurements confirmed the superparamagnetic properties of Fe3O4@SiO2 that is desirable for biomedical applications.
Preparation and Characterization of Silica-Coated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (Fe3O4@SiO2 NPs)
