Preparation and characterization of silica coated iron oxide magnetic nano-particles.

Iron oxide magnetic nano-particles have been prepared by precipitation in an aqueous solution of iron(II) and iron(III) chlorides under basic condition. Surface modifications have been carried out by using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS). The uncoated and coated particles have been characterized with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy.