Investigation the effect of pH and reducing agent concentration on the structural properties of zinc-substitution magnetite nanoparticles

Today, spinel ferrite nanoparticles are widely used in the medical field for cancer treatment, drug delivery, and magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent due to their superior magnetic properties and biocompatibility. Due to the strong dependence of magnetic properties on morphology and other structural aspects, the magnetic properties of these nanoparticles depend on their manufacturing process. One of the goals of the researchers is to improve the magnetic properties of these nanoparticles by substituting elements such as manganese, cobalt, zinc, nickel, magnesium and iron. In this research, first, magnetic Zn0.3Fe0.6O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal method in the presence of citric acid as a reducing agent. In order to reduce the amount of impurity and obtain the pure spinel phase and reduce the size of magnetic nanoparticles, the hydrothermal process was carried out in the presence of different concentrations of the reducing agent and pH level of the medium. The structural investigations of the resulting nanoparticles were carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that in order to obtain pure and single-phase spinel nanoparticles with appropriate particle size and size distribution, it is necessary to control the concentration of reducing agent and pH.