Magnetic materials solution-based oxidation

Rare-earth nanomaterials find numerous applications as phosphors, catalysts, permanent magnets, fuel cell electrodes and electrolytes, hard alloys, and superconductors. Yan and coauthors focus on inorganic non-metallic rare-earth nanomaterials prepared using chemical synthesis routes, more specifically, prepared via various solution-based routes. Recent discoveries in s)mthesis and characterization of properties of rare-earth nanomaterials are systematically reviewed. The authors begin with ceria and other rare-earth oxides, and then move to oxysalts, halides, sulfides, and oxysulfides. In addition to comprehensive description of s)mthesis routes that lead to a variety of nanoforms of these interesting materials, the authors pay special attention to summarizing most important properties and their relationships to peculiar structural features of nanomaterials s)mthesized over the last 10-15 years. 

Since the first synthesis of mesoporous materials MCM-41 at Mobile Coporation,1 most work carried out in this area has focused on the preparation, characterization and applications of silica-based compounds. Recently, the synthesis of metal oxide-based mesostructured materials has attracted research attention due to their catalytic, electric, magnetic and optical properties.2 5 Although metal sulfides have found widespread applications as semiconductors, electro-optical materials and catalysts, to just name a few, only a few attempts have been reported on the synthesis of metal sulfide-based mesostructured materials. Thus far, mesostructured tin sulfides have proven to be most synthetically accessible in aqueous solution at ambient temperatures.6-7 Physical property studies showed that such materials may have potential to be used as semiconducting liquid crystals in electro-optical displays and chemical sensing applications. In addition, mesostructured thiogermanates8-10 and zinc sulfide with textured mesoporosity after surfactant removal11 have been prepared under hydrothermal conditions. 

From Figure 1.1, we can see the Co particles prepared by thermal decomposition the raw materials are octacarbonyldicobalt and dichlorobenzene. Twenty years ago, Massart developed a method to synthesize magnetic ferrofluids based on the coprecipitation of Fe salts in aqueous solutions using repulsive electrostatic forces. The image of Fe oxidation product is slightly different from the Co product, as is shown in Figure 1.2. 

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