A Single Pot Approach for Synthesis of Phosphate Coated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Water dispersible Fe3O4 nanoparticles with a phosphate monolayer capping was synthesized by a single-step coprecipitation method using ferrous and ferric salt solutions, ammonia and orthophosphoric acid. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using thermogravimetric analyser with simultaneous differential scanning calorimetry (TGA-DSC), Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The FTIR result confirms the formation of protonated and nonprotonated monodentate complexes on nanoparticle surface. The surface coverage and the bridging of these complexes are found to be pH dependant. The DSC results confirm that the maghemite to hematite phase transition in these nanoparticles is enhanced by ~100 °C, which is attributed to the presence of flame retardant phosphocarbonaceous shell at the nanoparticle interface. These results show that the dynamic capping of phosphate on Fe3O4 particles during co-precipitation can control the nucleated particle size, without compromising magnetic properties and improve their thermal stability. The phosphate capped Fe3O4 nanoparticles showed excellent long term stability (> 2 years of shelf life) at biological pH that makes them ideal for biomedical applications.