The Role of Self-Assembly Processes in the Formation of Iron Nanoparticles in Inverse Micelles

Abstract

A study of the optical properties of iron nanoparticles prepared using the molecular-by-molecular method in the reactions of ion chemical and radiation-chemical reduction in inverse micelles, which were considered as microreactors, made it possible to reveal the features of the formation of metal nanoparticles (NPs) at various stages of physicochemical processes including a spontaneous formation of ordered spatial nanostructures in the postradiation period. The analysis of the spectral data obtained from the measurements in inverse micellar solutions (IMS), which were free of metal ions, provided important information on the evolution of colloid systems. After adding iron ions into an IMS, the Fe NP formation induced by self-assembly processes was detected via characteristic optical absorbance spectra. Based on the results obtained, some peculiarities of the self-assembly processes in IMSs occurring upon various ignition reactions of iron ion reduction and the Fe NP formation were discussed in the work.