Synthesis and properties of Fe3O4 nanoparticles assisted by ionic liquid

Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized using ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide ([Bmim][TFSI]) as a stabilizer. The magnetic and electrochemical performances of as-synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles were studied. The structure and morphology of as-synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD) and scanning electron microscopy(SEM). The results show that the morphology of products is uniform and the average particle size of the synthesized nanoparticles is found to be 20 nm. The as-synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles exhibit superparamagnetic behavior with saturation magnetization of 68.13 emu/g at room temperature. Additionally, galvanostatic chare and discharge were tested with the Fe3O4 nanoparticles as anode of materials lithium ion batteries at the current density of 0.1 A/g. The first charge and discharge capacities of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles are 1025 mAh/g and 1428 mAh/g, respectively.