Cm. Lukehart et al., NANOCOMPOSITES CONTAINING NANOCLUSTERS OF FE2P OR GAMMA-FE2O3, Materials science & engineering. A, Structural materials: properties, microstructure and processing, 204(1-2), 1995, pp. 176-180
Covalent incorporation of an organoiron complex into a silica xerogel
matrix affords a single-source precursor for two different nanocomposi
te materials. Thermal treatment of this molecularly doped xerogel unde
r hydrogen produces a nanocomposite containing nanocrystals of Fe2P (b
arringerite). Thermal treatment of this doped xerogel under oxidizing
conditions gives a nanocomposite containing nanocluster of gamma-Fe2O3
(maghemite-Q). The latter result is unique in that thermal treatment
of silica xerogels doped with ferric ions under similar thermal condit
ions affords an undesired iron silicate, Fe2SiO4 (fayalite), as the pr
inciple product. Preliminary magnetization measurements indicate that
both nanocomposites exhibit interesting magnetic properties.