Structural, Magnetic, Optical, and Catalytic Properties of Fe 3 O 4 Nanoparticles by the Sol-Gel Method

This article was aimed to extend a simple procedure for the preparation by a sol-gel method by using iron nitrate and polar solvent (e.g., water) as the starting materials from the viewpoint that they are of low cost. A study of the effect of chelating agents such as citric acid weight ratio on the structure of Fe 3 O 4 was reported. The synthesized product was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), photoluminescence (PL) studies, and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Magnetic analysis revealed that the Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles had a ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature with a saturation magnetization of 20.83 emu/g. Furthermore, Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles prepared by the sol-gel method using citric acid were tested for the catalytic activity towards the oxidation of benzyl alcohol.