Synthesis of gadolinium nanoparticles in spinach-extracted liquid using a pulse laser ablation method

Abstract

Colloidal gadolinium nanoparticles (GdNPs) have been produced by using pulsed laser ablation (PLA) method. The synthesis in this study used a low-power neodymium yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd: YAG) laser (45 mJ). Pulse laser beam, which has specifications of 1064 nm, 7ns, 10 Hz, was focused on high-purity metal gadolinium (Gd) surface, which was placed into a spinach-extracted liquid, to produce GdNPs colloid. It is known that the spinach naturally contains iron (Fe), which is a quite high concentration from FeSO4.7H2O. The magnetic characteristics of iron are ferromagnetism, likewise, gadolinium. As the contrast agent, especially in MRI, the magnetic characteristics of the material are needed to improve the image quality. Colloidal GdNPs were successfully produced at a total concentration of 71 ppm after laser bombardment. The TEM image of GdNPS shows that these nanoparticles had a spherical shape. The average diameter of GdNPs was 15 nm.