Synthesis of monodisperse FeCo nanoparticles by reductive salt-matrix annealing

We report here a novel synthetic method to prepare monodisperse air-stable FeCo nanoparticles with average sizes of 8, 12 and 20 nm. CoFe2O4 nanoparticles of different sizes were first synthesized by a chemical solution method. The as-synthesized CoFe2O4 nanoparticles were then mixed with ball-milled NaCl powders and heated to 400-500 ° C in forming gas (Ar 93%+H2 7%). The salt powder worked as a separating medium that prevents the CoFe2O4 nanoparticles from agglomerating during the heat treatment while the forming gas reduces the CoFe2O4 nanoparticles to FeCo nanoparticles. Monodisperse FeCo nanoparticles were recovered by dissolving the NaCl in water and subsequently washing with ethanol and acetone. Structural analyses confirmed that FeCo nanoparticles retained the same size as their oxide precursors. The size of the FeCo nanoparticles can be well tuned by controlling the size of the CoFe2O4 nanoparticles. The saturation magnetization of FeCo nanoparticles is size dependent and increases with size.