Synthesis of magnetic nanocomposites and alloys from platinum-iron oxide core-shell nanoparticles

This paper presents a systematic study on the generation of iron platinum-containing magnetic nanocomposites and alloys from Pt@Fe ₂O₃ core-shell nanoparticle precursors. These core-shell nanoparticles were made using a sequential synthetic approach. They could form FePt alloys and alloy-containing nanocomposites through a solid-state reaction at >400 °C. The chemical compositions of FePt alloys were controllable by using Pt@Fe₂O₃ core-shell nanoparticles that had the designed Pt core diameter and iron oxide shell thickness. We show that face-centred tetragonal (fct) FePt@Fe core-shell nanoparticles could be made from Pt@Fe₂O₃ core-shell nanoparticles with 5% hydrogen in argon (v/v). Furthermore, various FePt alloys and alloy-containing nanocomposites including metastable intermediate phases could be obtained. The materials were characterized by high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (HR-STEM), energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD), parallel electron energy loss spectroscopy (PEELS), and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry. These materials could have potential applications as permanent hard magnets and data storage media.