Preparation and Characterization of High-Magnetization Microspheres of Fe304 Encapsulated With Si02 and TiO2 Layers

"The high-magnetization microspheres of Fe3O4 encapsulated with S1O2 and T1O2 layers (Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2) were prepared. The microspheres were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. These high-magnetization microspheres could be readily dispersed by shaking whereas they could be rapidly separated from the aqueous solution simply by applying an external magnetic field. The two shells of S1O2 and T1O2 protected the iron oxide well and the microspheres were stable in acid and base solutions. Therefore, they have a good potential for the enrichment of phosphopeptides or photocatalytic activity. They could also be used to remove metal ions from waste water.IntroductionSolid-phase extraction (SPE) is the most commonly used separation technique for its simplicity, consumption of small volumes of organic solvent, and the ability to achieve a higher enrichment factor. The quest for new adsorbents is an important factor in improving analytical sensitivity and precision in SPE techniques. To date, many novel adsorbents, such as nanometer-sized materials, carbon nanotubes, mesoporous materials and magnetic nanoparticles have been employed in SPE.Magnetic polymeric microspheres, an interesting advanced composite material, have received increasing attention in the past few decades because of their unique physical and chemical properties and their potential for use in applications in various fields [1]. Magnetic microspheres consisting of an iron oxide core and a silica shell have attracted particular attention for their unique magnetic response, low cytotoxicity, and chemically modifiable surface. The core-shell magnetic silica microspheres have shown great potential in the fields of biotechnology and biomedicine for applications such as cell labeling and separation, enzyme and protein separations, targeted drug delivery, and magnetic ferrofluids hyperthermia."