| CZECH NANO TEAM | Physics of Nanostructures and Nanotechnologies

Miroslav Mašláň

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Group subject:

Amorphous and nanocrystalline iron oxides

Name and Curriculum vitae of contact person:

Miroslav Mašláň (prof., RNDr. , Ph.D.)

Affiliation:

Department of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Science, Palacky University in Olomouc

Position - professor, Head of Nanomaterial Research Center of Palacky University

Fields of scientific activity:

Mössbauer spectroscopy and its application in chemistry and mineralogy, including the use of this method in the study of iron oxide nanoparticles. The methodology of Mössbauer experiments and manufacturing of equipments for Mössbauer spectroscopy.

The supervisor of 3 PhD theses, more them 15 diploma thesis.

Publications:

Author or co-author of more than 70 scientific publications. Amongst these there are joint papers with the University of Delaware, University of Ioannina, National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos” in Athens, University of Lund, Belarus State University, University of Johannesburg.

Invited or oral presentations at International conferences and world-symposia during last 3 years:

2000 - International Symposium on Industrial Applications of the Mössbauer Effect- ISIAME 00, Virginia Beach, USA

2002 - Mössbauer Spectroscopy in Materials Science -MSMS 02, Bratislava, Slovakia

Selected solved projects:

• Mössbauer investigation of nanostructured Fe-O particles, NATO Linkage grant HTECH. LG 973515, 1998-2000, international collaboration grant with University of Delaware and University of Ioannina.

• Material Research in Atomic Scale by Mössbauer Spectroscopy, PST.ARW.978437: Co-director, organization of ARW, 2002.

• Mössbauer study of iron oxide nanoparticles, grant administrated by Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic ME600, 2002-2004, international collaboration grant with University of Tokyo.

Selected related publications from last 3 years:

• Mulaba- Bafubiandi A.F., Pollak H., Mashlan M., Jancik D., Kholmetskii A.: A fast determinationof Fe3+/Fe2+ ratio in industrial minerals. Minerals Engineering, 14(4), (2001) 445-448.

• Mashlan M., Jancik D., Kholmetskii A.L.: YAG:Ce and YAP:Ce – Suitable fast detectors for transmission Mössbauer spectroscopy, Hyperfine Interactions, 139, No.1-4, (2002) 673-678.

• R. Zboril, M. Mashlan, D. Petridis: Iron(III) Oxides from Thermal Processes-Synthesis, Structural and Magnetic Properties, Mössbauer Spectroscopy Characterization, and Applications, Chem.Mater. 14, 969-982 (2002).

• F. Kovanda, V. Balek, V. Dorničák, P. Martinec, M. Mašláň, L. Bílková, D. Koloušek, I.M. Bountsewa: Thermal Behaviour of SyntheticPyroaurite-Like Anionic Clay, Jourmal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 71, (2003) 727-737.

• R. Ryvola, M. Mashlan: The Use of the Wavelet Transform for Mössbauer Spectra Fitting, M. Mashlan, M. Miglierini and P. Schaaf (eds.), Material Research in Atomic Scale by Mössbauer Spectroscopy, Kluwer Academic Publishers, (2003) 339-346.

Group members:

Miroslav Mašláň, Radek Zbořil, Libor Machala, Roman Kubínek, Milan Vůjtek, Jiří Tuček

Main Research Subjects:

• Synthesis of iron oxide-based nanopowders by thermally induced solid-state reactions of the suitable Fe-precursors in combination with the postprocessing (chemical, magnetic) separation of nanoparticles.

• Magnetic characterization of the nanostructures by Mössbauer spectroscopy measurements at low temperatures and in external magnetic fields, SQUID magnetization measurements.

• Structural and size-morphology characterization by XRD, TEM, SEM, AFM, QELS, BET measurement of the specific surface area.

• Possible applications of the inorganic nanomaterials in the fields of the magnetic glass ceramics, zeolite industry (improvement of the properties by the magnetic modification), catalysis, nanopigments and biomedicine (sorption-purification processes, dialysis, contrasts agents in MRI).

Selected Specific Equipment:

For the nanomaterial research, we use (directly in laboratories of Palacky University) mainly 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, XRD, AFM, thermal analysis (TG/DTA), IR spectroscopy (including near-IR), elemental (C,H,N,S) analysis, NMR and QELS measurement of particle size distribution. Thanks to cooperation with foreign partners, we use vibrating sample magnetometer, SQUID magnetometer, Conversion Electron Mössbauer spectroscopy. The superior equipments located in Nanomaterial Research Center of Palacky University:

• There are mainly equipment allowing different Mössbauer experiments including room temperature, low temperature (closed He cycle: 15-300K) and high temperature (300-1200 K) measurements. The full-fledged Mössbauer lab disposes of MS measurements in back scattering geometry, MS with resonance detection and, primarily, by the external field MS equipment (Oxford Instruments, 1.5-300 K, up to 10 T!).

• The atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements of the powdered samples are carried out in air and room temperature using the AFM Explorer microscope (ThermoMicroscopes, USA) in a non-contact mode with Si tips. The technique is commonly used for the study of particle morphology and particle size distribution (the distribution of the vertical dimensions).

• Using AFM and QELS method, the changes in particle size distribution during isochemical transformations of Fe2O3 polymorphs are monitored (the size distribution analysis range of 2-1000 nm).

Additional recent selected publications by group members:

• R. Zboril, M. Mashlan, L. Machala and P. Bezdicka: Iron(III) oxides formed during thermal conversion of rhombohedral iron(III) sulfate, in: Material Research in Atomic Scale by Mössbauer Spectroscopy, eds. M. Mashlan, M. Miglierini, P. Schaaf, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 2003, pp 21-30.

• M. Mashlan, R. Zboril and K. Barcova: Mössbauer spectroscopy in studying the thermally induced oxidation processes in iron-bearing silicate minerals, in: Material Research in Atomic Scale by Mössbauer Spectroscopy, eds. M. Mashlan, M. Miglierini, P. Schaaf, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 2003, pp 271-284.

• K. Barcova, M. Mashlan, R. Zboril, and P. Martinec: Mössbauer study of transformation mechanism of Fe cations in olivine after thermal treatments in air, Journal of Nuclear and Radioanalytical Chemistry 255, 529-533 (2003).

• M. Vujtek, R. Zboril, R. Kubinek and M. Mashlan: Ultrafine particles of iron(III) oxides by view of AFM - novel route for study of polymorphism in nano-world, in: Science, technology and education of microscopy: an overview, A. Mendez-Vilas (ed.), Formatex, Badajoz (Spain), 2003, pp 60-68.