Synthesis and characterization of magnetic nanoparticles embedded in polyvinyl pyrrolidone nanofiber film by electrospinning method

We fabricated magnetic nanofiber films by manufacturing the nanoparticles with the polyol process followed by the electrospinning process to combine them into a thin film. The magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles with mean crystallite size of 6-8 nm were synthesized through reduction of iron (II) acetate in the polyols and using polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as the protecting agent. The PVP-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles were dispersed into PVP ethanol solution and then electrospun directly to make nanofiber films. The diameters of fibers range between 200-400 nm, and the film thickness is about 50 mu m. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles show a saturation magnetization of 36.6 emu/g, and together with the nanofiber films display a superparamagnetic behavior. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3062949]