Mössbauer and MCD spectroscopy of the Fe3S4 nanoparticles synthesized by the thermal decomposition method with two different surfactants

Greigite (Fe3S4) nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated by the thermal decomposition method using two different surfactants: oleylamine (OLA) and 1-hexadecylamine (HDA). In both cases, the synthesized NPs were characterized as the Fe3S4 nanocrystals with minor inclusions of Fe9S11 phase. FT-IR spectroscopy and thermo-gravimetric analysis allow concluding about OLA or HDA shells covering magnetic core of NPs. Mossbauer spectra has revealed deviations of iron ions distribution among crystal positions from that presented in literature for pure greigite. In accordance with these deviations, the pronounce changes are observed in the magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectra which manifest themselves as the spectrum shift to higher energies of electromagnetic waves and redistribution of the MCD maximum intensities. These effects are associated with a change in the density of electronic states in the samples due to the redistribution of iron ions between octahedral and tetrahedral positions in nanocrystals under the influence of surfactants.