Magnetic properties of biogenic selenium nanomaterials


Magnetic properties of biogenic selenium nanomaterials

Dixit, R.; Gupta, A.; Jordan, N.; Zhou, S.; Schild, D.; Weiß, S.; Guillon, E.; Jain, R.; Lens, P.

The properties of biogenic elemental selenium (BioSe) need to be studied in order to understand its environmental fate. In this paper, the magnetic properties of biogenic elemental selenium nanospheres (BioSe-Nanospheres) and nanorods (BioSe-Nanorods) obtained via the reduction of selenium(IV) using anaerobic granular sludge were investigated. The study indicated that the BioSe nanomaterials have a strong paramagnetic contribution with some ferromagnetic component due to the incorporation of Fe(III) (high spin and low spin species) as indicated by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR). X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) also confirmed the weak presence of Fe(III) and combined with EPR data, the Fe(III) availability through the nanomaterial was established. It is likely that Fe(III) being abundantly present in sludge got entrapped in the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) coating the biogenic nanomaterials. The presence of Fe(III) in BioSe nanomaterials increases the mobility of Fe(III) and can have an effect on phytoplankton growth in the environment. Further, there is a potential to exploit the magnetic properties of BioSe nanomaterials in drug delivery system as well as in space refrigeration.

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Publ.-Id: 31404