Abstract
The electrosynthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles offers a green route, with significant energy and environmental advantages. Yet, this is mostly restricted by the oxygen solubility in the electrolyte. Gas-diffusion electrodes (GDEs) can be used to overcome that limitation, but so far they not been explored for nanoparticle synthesis. Here, we develop a fast, environmentally-friendly, room temperature electrosynthesis route for iron oxide nanocrystals, which we term gas-diffusion electrocrystallization (GDEx). A GDE is used to generate oxidants and hydroxide in-situ, enabling the oxidative synthesis of a single iron salt (e.g., FeCl2) into nanoparticles. Oxygen is reduced to reactive oxygen species, triggering the controlled oxidation of Fe2+ to Fe3+, forming Fe3-xO4-x (0 ≤ x ≤ 1). The stoichiometry and lattice parameter of the resulting oxides can be controlled and predictively modelled, resulting in highly-defective, strain-heavy nanoparticles. The size of the nanocrystals can be tuned from 5 nm to 20 nm, with a large saturation magnetization range (23 to 73 A m2 kg-1), as well as minimal coercivity (~1 kA m-1). Using only air, NaCl, and FeCl2, a biocompatible approach is achieved, besides a remarkable level of control over key parameters, with a view on minimizing the addition of chemicals for enhanced production and applications.