TY - JOUR A1 - Bender, P. A1 - Fock, J. A1 - Hansen, M. F. A1 - Bogart, L. K. A1 - Southern, P. A1 - Ludwig, F. A1 - Wiekhorst, F. A1 - Szczerba, Wojciech A1 - Zeng, L. J. A1 - Heinke, D. A1 - Gehrke, N. A1 - Fernández Díaz, M. T. A1 - González-Alonso, D. A1 - Espeso, J. I. A1 - Rodríguez Fernández, J. A1 - Johansson, C. T1 - Influence of clustering on the magnetic JF - Nanotechnology 29 N2 - Clustering of magnetic nanoparticles can drastically change their collective magnetic properties, which in turn may influence their performance in technological or biomedical applications. Here, we investigate a commercial colloidal dispersion (FeraSpinTMR), which contains dense clusters of iron oxide cores (mean size around 9 nm according to neutron diffraction) with varying cluster size (about 18–56 nm according to small angle x-ray diffraction), and its individual size fractions (FeraSpinTMXS, S, M, L, XL, XXL). The magnetic properties of the colloids were characterized by isothermal magnetization, as well as frequency-dependent optomagnetic and AC susceptibility measurements. From these measurements we derive the underlying moment and Relaxation frequency distributions, respectively. Analysis of the distributions shows that the clustering of the initially superparamagnetic cores leads to remanent magnetic moments within the large clusters. At frequencies below 105 rad s−1, the relaxation of the clusters is dominated by Brownian (rotation) relaxation. At higher frequencies, where Brownian relaxation is inhibited due to viscous friction, the clusters still show an appreciable magnetic relaxation due to internal moment relaxation within the clusters. As a result of the internal moment relaxation, the colloids with the large clusters (FSL, XL, XXL) excel in magnetic hyperthermia experiments. KW - Magnetic hyperthermia KW - Magnetic nanoparticles KW - Multi-core particles KW - Core-clusters PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6528/aad67d VL - 29 IS - 42 SP - Articel 425705 PB - IOP Publishing CY - UK AN - OPUS4-47203 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wintzheimer, S. A1 - Szczerba, Wojciech A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Kashiwaya, S. A1 - Klein, A. A1 - Jaegermann, W. A1 - Toupance, T. A1 - Shmeliov, A. A1 - Nicolosi, V. A1 - Heuzé, K. A1 - Mandel, K. A1 - Dembski, S. T1 - Discovering the determining parameters for the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 colloids based on an anomalous dependence on the specific surface area JF - Particle & Particle Systems Characterization N2 - The photocatalytic (PC) performance of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles strongly depends on their specific surface, the presence of crystal defects, their crystal phase, and the exposed crystal facets. In order to understand which of these factors contributes most significantly to the PC activity of TiO2 colloids, all of them have to be individually analyzed. This study entails the synthesis of five anatase nanocrystal samples. By maintaining the same reactant ratios as well as hydrothermal sol–gel synthesis route and only varying the autoclaving time or temperature, different crystallite sizes are obtained under comparable experimental conditions. A decrease in PC performance with increase in specific surface area is found. Such an unexpected counterintuitive result establishes the basis for a better understanding of the crucial factors that ultimately determine the PC activity. These are investigated by studying nanocrystals bulk and surface structure and morphology using a selection of complementary analysis methods (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), X-ray diffraction (XRD)…). It is found that a change in the nanocrystal morphology from an equilibrium state truncated tetragonal bipyramid to a more elongated rod-like structure accompanied by an increase in oxygen vacancies is responsible for an augmented PC activity of the TiO2 nanocrystals. KW - Ti-based colloids KW - Photocatalysis KW - Spectroscopy KW - XAFS PY - 2018 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/ppsc.201800216 SN - 0934-0866 SN - 1521-4117 VL - 35 IS - 9 SP - 1800216, 1 EP - 10 PB - Wiley Online Library AN - OPUS4-46068 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Szczerba, Wojciech A1 - Schneider, M. A1 - Żukrowski, J. A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Riesemeier, Heinrich A1 - Sikora, M. A1 - Mandel, K. T1 - Spectroscopic Study of the Role of Metal Ions in the Adsorption Process of Phosphate in Nanoscaled Adsorbers Based on Metal (Zn/ Fe/Zr) Oxyhydroxides JF - The Journal of Physical Chemistry C N2 - Currently great effort is made to find materials and technologies for the recycling of phosphate from wastewater. Herein, we present an in-depth study of the Phosphate adsorption mechanism of a promising adsorber material, a Zn−Fe−Zr oxyhydroxide-based nanostructured precipitate. The behavior of the multicomponent nanomaterial, consisting of both crystalline and amorphous parts, is investigated via X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and Mössbauer spectroscopy, revealing the importance of the nanostructured composition for the phosphate adsorption. We found evidence that adsorption takes place especially in the vicinity of iron sites in the amorphous part of the material. KW - Zn-Fe-Zr nanoparticles KW - Adsorption of phosphate KW - XAFS KW - Catalysis PY - 2017 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.7b04773 SN - 1932-7447 VL - 121 IS - 45 SP - 25033 EP - 25042 PB - ACS Publications AN - OPUS4-43348 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bender, P. A1 - Bogart, L.K. A1 - Posth, O. A1 - Szczerba, Wojciech A1 - Rogers, S.E. A1 - Castro, A. A1 - Nilsson, L. A1 - Zeng, L. J. A1 - Sugunan, A. A1 - Sommertune, J. A1 - Fornara, A. A1 - Gonzales-Alonso, D. A1 - Fernandez Barquin, L. A1 - Johansson, C. T1 - Structural and magnetic properties of multi-core nanoparticles analysed using a generalised numerical inversion method JF - Scientific Reports N2 - The structural and magnetic properties of magnetic multi-core particles were determined by numerical inversion of small angle scattering and isothermal magnetisation data. The investigated particles consist of iron oxide nanoparticle cores (9 nm) embedded in poly(styrene) spheres (160 nm). A thorough physical characterisation of the particles included transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation. Their structure was ultimately disclosed by an indirect Fourier transform of static light scattering, small angle X-ray scattering and small angle neutron scattering data of the colloidal dispersion. The extracted pair distance distribution functions clearly indicated that the cores were mostly accumulated in the outer surface layers of the poly(styrene) spheres. To investigate the magnetic properties, the isothermal magnetisation curves of the multi-core particles (immobilised and dispersed in water) were analysed. The study stands out by applying the same numerical approach to extract the apparent moment distributions of the particles as for the indirect Fourier transform. It could be shown that the main peak of the apparent moment distributions correlated to the expected intrinsic moment distribution of the cores. Additional peaks were observed which signaled deviations of the isothermal magnetisation behavior from the non-interacting case, indicating weak dipolar interactions. KW - Numerical inversion KW - Magnetic nanoparticles KW - Iron oxides KW - Magnetic properties KW - Structural properties PY - 2017 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-400952 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45990 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 7 SP - Article 45990, 1 EP - 14 AN - OPUS4-40095 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bender, P A1 - Balceris, C. A1 - Ludwig, F A1 - Posth, O A1 - Bogart, L. K. A1 - Szczerba, Wojciech A1 - Castro, A A1 - Nilsson, L A1 - Costo, R A1 - Gavilan, H A1 - Gonzalez-Alonso, D A1 - de Pedro, I A1 - Barquin, L. F. A1 - Johansson, C T1 - Distribution functions of magnetic nanoparticles determined by a numerical inversion method JF - New Journal of Physics N2 - In the present study, we applied a regularized inversion method to extract the particle size, magnetic moment and relaxation-time distribution of magnetic nanoparticles from small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), DC magnetization (DCM) and AC susceptibility (ACS) measurements. For the measurements the particles were colloidally dispersed in water. At first approximation the particles could be assumed to be spherically shaped and homogeneously magnetized single-domain particles. As model functions for the inversion, we used the particle form factor of a sphere (SAXS), the Langevin function (DCM) and the Debye model (ACS). The extracted distributions exhibited features/peaks that could be distinctly attributed to the individually dispersed and non-interacting nanoparticles. Further analysis of these peaks enabled, in combination with a prior characterization of the particle ensemble by electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering, a detailed structural and magnetic characterization of the particles. Additionally, all three extracted distributions featured peaks, which indicated deviations of the scattering (SAXS), magnetization (DCM) or relaxation (ACS) behavior from the one expected for individually dispersed, homogeneously magnetized nanoparticles. These deviations could be mainly attributed to partial agglomeration (SAXS, DCM, ACS), uncorrelated surface spins (DCM) and/or intra-well relaxation processes (ACS). The main advantage of the numerical inversion method is that no ad hoc assumptions regarding the line shape of the extracted distribution functions are required, which enabled the detection of these contributions. We highlighted this by comparing the results with the results obtained by standard model fits, where the functional form of the distributions was a priori assumed to be log-normal shaped. KW - SAXS KW - Small-angle X-ray scattering KW - Nanoparticle PY - 2017 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-429373 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/aa73b4 SN - 1367-2630 VL - 19 SP - 073012, 1 EP - 073012, 19 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. AN - OPUS4-42937 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Szczerba, Wojciech A1 - Costo, R. A1 - Veintemillas-Verdaguer, S. A1 - del Puerto Morales, M. A1 - Thünemann, Andreas T1 - SAXS analysis of single- and multi-core iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles JF - Journal of Applied Crystallography N2 - This article reports on the characterization of four superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles stabilized with dimercaptosuccinic acid, which are suitable candidates for reference materials for magnetic properties. Particles p1 and p2 are single-core particles, while p3 and p4 are multi-core particles. Small-angle X-ray scattering analysis reveals a lognormal type of size distribution for the iron oxide cores of the particles. Their mean radii are 6.9 nm (p1), 10.6 nm (p2), 5.5 nm (p3) and 4.1 nm (p4), with narrow relative distribution widths of 0.08, 0.13, 0.08 and 0.12. The cores are arranged as a clustered network in the form of dense mass fractals with a fractal dimension of 2.9 in the multi-core particles p3 and p4, but the cores are well separated from each other by a protecting organic shell. The radii of gyration of the mass fractals are 48 and 44 nm, and each network contains 117 and 186 primary particles, respectively. The radius distributions of the primary particle were confirmed with transmission electron microscopy. All particles contain purely maghemite, as shown by X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy KW - Superparamagnetic nanoparticles KW - Iron oxide KW - Reference materials KW - SAXS KW - Small-angle x-ray scattering KW - XANES KW - X-ray absorption near-edge structure KW - X-ray absorption fine structure PY - 2017 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-395948 DO - https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600576717002370 SN - 1600-5767 VL - 50 IS - Part 2 SP - 481 EP - 488 PB - (IUCr) International Union of Crystallography AN - OPUS4-39594 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -