Towards a One-Step Synthesis and Encapsulation of Acentric Iron Iodate (Fe(IO 3 ) 3 ) Nanocrystals via Inverse Miniemulsion

Due to their good nonlinear optical properties, acentric iron iodate (Fe(IO3)(3)) nanocrystals, are potential candidates as second harmonic probes for multi-photon bioimaging. In this work, Fe(IO3)(3) nanocrystals are prepared after homogenization of two initial inverse miniemulsions to obtain monodisperse nano-objects of well-defined morphology. Coating of bare Fe(IO3)(3) nanocrystals with the biocompatible poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, HEMA) in presence of methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBA), as a crosslinker, is also investigated because encapsulation is a prerequisite to enhance the biocompatibility, colloidal stability and non-toxicity of the exogenous biomarkers. In addition, the reactants and surfactant concentrations are found to be the key parameters that affect the final properties of the as-prepared bare nanocrystals and of the poly(HEMA-MBA)@Fe(IO3)(3) hybrid composites. Size, morphology, crystallinity, and chemical composition of particles are investigated by means of dynamic light scattering (DLS), TEM, FTIR, XRD and TGA analyses. Significant variations in the shape (nanorod or sphere-like), crystallinity and size of the Fe(IO3)(3) nanocrystals and poly(HEMA-MBA)@Fe(IO3)(3) hybrid nanoparticles are discussed according to the experimental conditions.