The Overview
Why? Magnetite Nanocrystals are good for removing arsenic from water. Based on recent advances in nanotechnology, it’s now possible to make regular magnetite nanocrystals as small as 20-100nm, and to remove them from solution using a handheld magnet. Arsenic poisoning is a huge problem in Southeast Asia, especially in Bangladesh, and in various other parts of the world. Our project opens up the process for making magnetite and encourages you to experiment with it, contribute to it, and improve it.
- Step 1: Prepare and Collect Ingredients
- Step 2: Make your own soap.
- Step 3: Produce a Fatty Acid Mixture
- Step 4: Collect and Grind some Rust
- Step 5:Cook/grow your own magnetite crystals
- Step 6: Verify your Magnetite Crystals
(a) Ingredients for a typical nanocrystal synthesis include: Oil, vinegar, pan, crystal drain openerTM and rust.
(b-c) Synthesis begins with soapmaking. For this the oil is mixed with crystal drain openerTM and water.
(d) After curing for a day the soap solidifies.
(e) For efficient dissolution in subsequent steps, the soap is ground to a fine powder,
(f) then mixed with vinegar
(g-h) while heating on a stove.
(i-j) Once all the soap is dissolved the solution forms two layers: a yellow top layer and a cloudy white/yellow bottom layer.
(k) The top layer is the fatty acid mixture (FAM). This needs to be heated at 110 oC to remove excess water and vinegar by-products.
(l) Clear yellow FAM is collected.
(m-n) Rust was scraped off of rusted metals and was ground to a fine powder.
(o) FAM and rust were mixed.
(p-q) Mixture was heated for 2 hours at below and near boiling temperatures. The temperature was measured using a standard mercury thermometer.
(r-s) Magnetite (black) began to form.
(t) TEM micrograph was obtained after magnetic separation in chloroform. Scale bar is 50 nm.
Download a PDF file of the complete, latest version of the instructions.
I am curious about this question: What happens to the crystals if placed in liquid suspension and set inside a varying magnetic field? Would the crystals move in the suspension? And, if they move, and if they could be made to move “sufficiently fast”, what happens at the nanometer scale — would the crystals have some funky interactions with molecules in suspension?
We have alot of ‘black sand’ (mostly Magnetite) in my area can you use this instead of rust? Is yes, is there any benefit?
I think the a good step towards advancing open nano from this point would be to physically characterize the particles that have been synthesized so that we can understand in detail the matter’s properties.
From that point we can begin to ponder what other “open source” modifications / applications we can use the magnetic nano particles in.
Also, creating gold nano particles via steric stabilization with acid and thiols is a cheap and very low cost way to make gold nano particles.
Thiols of course are a good mechanism for biological functionalization…
Hi, Nice write up..good stuff. The starting material can also be heamatitie or jewelers rouge, works very well,.
Well documented project and of course great idea.
“Download a PDF file of the complete, latest version of the instructions.”
Sure i’d like to, but where is it ?
[...] make nanotechnology to the home laboratory. Their first project is a guide to fabricating your own Magnetite Nanocrystals: Why? Magnetite Nanocrystals are good for removing arsenic from water. Based on recent advances in [...]
Could these magnetite nanoparticles then be suspended in an oily carrier to may DIY ferrofluid?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrofluid
Have you contacted anyone in the target environments where your technique might find application? Are these materials available to the people in Bangladesh who need them? Could you adapt the process for them? The drain cleaner jumps out at me as something someone there might not be able to get their hands on.
[...] make nanotechnology to the home laboratory. Their first project is a guide to fabricating your own Magnetite Nanocrystals: Why? Magnetite Nanocrystals are good for removing arsenic from water. Based on recent advances in [...]
[...] many chemistry projects we post here, making magnetite nanocrystals doesn’t require anything that can’t be found in a local grocery store. All that is [...]
What about ferrofluid?
Could I skip step 2 and just use regular store bought soap or soap flakes?
[...] Suivez les étapes sur le site OSnano [...]
In the end, will this be similar to ferrofluid?
This is a great project. I thought I would try it out, but there doesn’t seem to be a link to the pdf with details….. I couldn’t find archives or anything in the FAQ, am I missing something?
4 questions (ignore the first two if answered in the faq and you can direct me to a link)
1. without reading the detailed instructions (yet), could ready made soap be used (maybe a “pure” soap)?
2. We can’t get the particular brand of cleaner in Australia, are substitute guidelines provided?
3. Is there some easy way to attach things to the nanocrystals? (and if so, what would be some interesting tails to attach?)
4. Are there similar or equally simple ways to create nancrystals from other metals (eg gold). What about carbon fibres or buckyballs? Caged atoms?
Excellent site.
Nice,the nanoparticle concentration/colour effect only happens with germanium right?Nano iron is always black?The molecular self assembly part of nanotech is the hardest part.
Other question,the chemistry only works for iron oxide?Is nano manganese,nano copper possible using the same reaction? The fatty acid,would modifying the size of the fatty acid,ie using longer or shorter chained fats affect the size of the nanoparticle.
Are you familiar with Crocetin?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocetin
I wonder if that can be used instead?Or the new surfactants,those with a sulfo- benzyl group attached to the fatty acid moeity?
wrong email address
Will it mix with febreeze,ie can cyclodextrin be used to effect greater separation of the nanoparticles,or can an aniseed(anethole) microemulsion give even better results?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anethole
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouzo_effect
The ‘Download a PDF file of the…..” doesn’t seem to have a file attached to it. Thanks.
Alan
Hi!
I’m planning to make some of these nanocrystals and test its chemical properties. Can you provide the pdf file with full instructions?
Thanks
There are other ideas to review the material than the one that were mentioned. I must concede that you have more knowledge than I.
I can not find the PDF with the complete instruction set. Can some one point me out to where it is?
Hi,
can you tell me whats the ratio of Fe2O3 and oleic acid? I have a batch of Fe2O3 dust (50g) so how much oleic acid should I use?
possible method for coating the nano particles with silver: http://144.206.159.178/ft/627/583473/12153419.pdf
Maybe this has already been suggested or makes crystals that are too large (I doubt it, b/c the end result is supposed to be single molecules or tiny cluster molecule crystals), but why not use electrical etchant? It’s fast and easy.
You can get the stuff at RadioShack. Just mix a little in a glass with steel wool till it turns bright green, and mix it back with regular etchant. The mixture is 2:1 but I forget which ingredient is which. It will drop the little magnetites in solution, then you can yank them out with a magnet.