Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of carbohydrate microspheres coated with magnetic nanoparticles

Carbohydrate microspheres coated with magnetic nanoparticles were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis where a species of carbohydrate, such as vitamin C, glucose, and soluble starch, were used to obtain microsphere templates as the core of the composite microspheres. The dimension of the carbohydrate microspheres could be well controlled by adjusting the concentration of the starting material, the temperature, and the reaction time. The morphology of the magnetic composite microspheres was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The composition, as well as the structure of the composite microspheres, was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and x-ray diffraction (XRD).