Synthesis of silver-iron oxide nanocomposites by thermal decomposition

Silver-iron oxide nanocomposites were synthesized by an easy thermal decomposition method using iron acetyl acetonate and silver acetate as precursors and oleic acid (OA) and oleyl amine (OLA) as the capping agents in a single step. The composite samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), UV-Visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and magnetic measurements. Powder XRD and UV-Visible spectroscopy results indicate the presence of nanocrystalline silver in the composite and the FT-IR results coupled with TGA results indicate the presence of ligand molecules on surface of the nanocomposites. The FE-SEM images show that the nanocomposite particles are mainly spherical in shape while the energy dispersive X-ray analysis studies indicate the presence of iron and oxygen in the composites. From the magnetic measurements, the composites were found to be superparamagnetic with characteristic blocking temperatures indicating the presence of iron oxide nanoparticles in the nanocomposites.