Multiscale simulations of the hydration shells surrounding spherical Fe3O4 nanoparticles and effect on magnetic properties

Abstract

Iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) are excellent systems in catalysis and in nanomedicine, where they are mostly immersed in aqueous media. Even though the NP solvation by water is expected to play an active role, the detailed structural insight at the nanostructure oxide/water interface is still missing. Here, based on our previous efforts to obtain accurate models of dehydrated Fe₃O₄ NPs and of their magnetic properties and through multiscale molecular dynamics simulations combining the density functional tight binding method and force field, we unravel the atomistic details of the short range (chemical) and long range (physical) interfacial effects when magnetite nanoparticles are immersed in water. The influence of the first hydration shell on the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Fe₃O₄ NPs is revealed by high-level hybrid density functional calculations. Hydrated Fe₃O₄ NPs possess larger magnetic moment than dehydrated ones. This work bridges the large gap between experimental studies on solvated Fe₃O₄ NPs and theoretical investigations on flat Fe₃O₄ surfaces covered with water and paves the way for further study of Fe₃O₄ NPs in biological environments.