Magnetic field enhanced hydrophilicity of Fe-TiO₂ nanostructures

¹ Nano-Physics Research Laboratory, Department of physics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
² Department of physics, Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran, Iran

^a e-mail: y.abdi@ut.ac.ir

Received: 2 November 2011
Revised: 19 May 2012
Accepted: 22 May 2012
Published online: 5 July 2012

Abstract

An oxygen plasma treatment was used to prepare Fe-doped TiO₂ nanoparticles. The anatase and rutile phases of TiO₂ nanoparticles were achieved by an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition method. The nanostructures were doped by Fe atoms to obtain a ferromagnetic nanostructure based on TiO₂ nanoparticles. Atomic force microscopy and magnetic force microscopy were used for morphological and magnetic investigation of as-prepared samples. Measurements have confirmed the induced magnetic moment of the structures. Magnetic field-induced wettability of the prepared nanostructures was investigated in dark and under UV and visible light. The results showed a considerable enhancement in the wettability of the structure by applying the magnetic field.