Sonochemical Deposition of Air-Stable Iron Nanoparticles on Monodispersed Carbon Spherules

A novel route was used to prepare “perfect spherical” monodispersed carbon with a smooth surface, which has a surface area of 8 m2/g. Air-stable iron nanoparticles with an average size of ∼10 nm were deposited on the surface of preformed carbon spherules with the aid of power ultrasound. This coating was achieved by ultrasonic irradiation of a slurry of carbon spherules and Fe(CO)5 in diphenylmethane for 90 min under an argon atmosphere. The as-prepared amorphous material was annealed in argon at 700 °C, forming air-stable iron deposited on carbon spherules. The product was characterized by XRD, TEM, EDAX, BET surface area, HR-SEM, TGA, DSC, magnetic measurements, electron paramagnetic resonance, and Raman spectroscopy.