Synthesis, Properties, and Applications of Iron Nanoparticles

Iron, the most ubiquitous of the transition metals and the fourth most plentiful element in the Earth's crust, is the structural backbone of our modern infrastructure. It is therefore ironic that as a nanoparticle, iron has been somewhat neglected in favor of its own oxides, as well as other metals such as cobalt, nickel, gold, and platinum. This is unfortunate, but understandable. Iron's reactivity is important in macroscopic applications (particularly rusting), but is a dominant concern at the nanoscale. Finely divided iron has long been known to be pyrophoric, which is a major reason that iron nanoparticles have not been more fully studied to date. This extreme reactivity has traditionally made iron…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy

  Award: AC04-94AL85000
• NN
  National Nuclear Security Administration

  Award: DE-AC04-94AL85000
• BE
  Basic Energy Sciences

  Award: DE-AC04-94AL85000
• SN
  Sandia National Laboratories

  Awards: DE-AC04-94AL85000, AC04-94AL85000
• DO
  Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering