Published June 3, 2022
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Tailoring the Microstructural, Optical, and Magnetic Properties of MgFe2O4 Nanoparticles Capped Polyethylene Glycol Through a Bio-Inspired Method

Creators

  • 1. Centre for High Energy Physics, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
  • 2. National Centre for Physics, Quaid-i-Azam University Campus, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • 3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nsukka, Nigeria
  • 4. Nanosciences African Network (NANOAFNET), iThemba LABS-National Research, Johannesburg, South Africa
  • 5. UNESCO-UNISA Africa Chair in Nanosciences/Nanotechnology, College of Graduate Studies, University of South Africa (UNISA), Pretoria, South Africa
  • 6. NPU-NCP Joint International Research Center on Advanced Nanomaterials and Defects Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China
  • 7. Northwestern Polytechnical University
  • 8. Department of Physics, University of Delta, Agbor, Nigeria
  • 9. Department of Physics, National Institute of Lasers and Optronics (NILOP), Islamabad, Pakistan
  • 10. School of Materials Science & Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China

Description

Ferrite materials have found applications in numerous areas, chiefly for hyperthermia in cancer therapy, targeted drug delivery and photodegradation. In this work, magnesium ferrite nanoparticles (MgFNPs) were formulated using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a capping agent to tailor the properties and heighten the biocompatibility for suitable biomedical applications. The characterization results clearly showed the effect of PEG tailoring the properties of the formulated MgFNPs. A crystallite size with a value between 16 and 91 nm was determined from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed particles of spherical shape for all the samples and the particle size was enhanced as the concentration of PEG increased. The vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) showed a ferromagnetic nature for the samples with reduced saturation magnetization as the concentration of PEG was increased. The PEG concentration heightened the properties of the sample and can be highly optimized for suitable biomedical applications.
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