Synthesis and Characterization of Fe3O4/SiO2 nanocomposites

Abstract

Fe3O4@SiO2 nanocomposites have been synthesized using the Stöber method. X-ray diffraction data analysis showed the addition of SiO2 changed the diffraction pattern peak which represented the existence of Fe3O4 and SiO2 nanoparticles. Based on the elemental analysis, it can be seen that Si compositions on the samples were 14.7 % (S1), 19.8% (S2), and 20.4% (S3). It strengthens the existence of Fe3O4 and SiO2 nanoparticles on the sample. Furthermore, the infrared spectrum showed that Fe3O4 and SiO2 molecular functional groups were recorded at the wavenumber of 548 cm-1 with Fe-O-Si bond. Furthermore, Fe-O bond was recorded at the wavenumber of 461 cm-1. Meanwhile, Si-O-Si and Si-O bonds were detected at the wavenumbers of 1102 cm-1 and 949 cm-1 respectively. Furthermore, the data from UV-Vis characterization presented the peak shifted towards a higher angle of the wavelength which indicated that there is a phenomenon of changes in band gap particle size along with increased content of SiO2.