Synthesis of poly(methyl methacrylate) stabilized colloidal zero-valence metallic nanoparticles

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) stabilized colloidal metallic iron nanoparticles without additional surfactant or stabilizer were fabricated by a wet chemical reduction method. The synthesized colloidal iron nanoparticles were found to be stable in tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution and the dried PMMA–Fe nanocomposites were ferromagnetic even at room temperature as illustrated by magnetometer measurement. The particle size increased with the decrease of the initial PMMA concentration and the magnetic properties also depended on the initial PMMA concentration.