Rapid magnetic modification of diamagnetic particulate and high aspect ratio materials

Abstract Novel method for rapid magnetic modification of diamagnetic powder and high aspect ratio materials has been developed. This procedure is based on thorough mixing of diamagnetic materials with suspensions of magnetite nano- and microparticles in highly volatile organic solvents (namely n-pentane or petroleum ether) followed by a drying step. Due to the low boiling point of the solvents used during magnetic modification, the whole process can be performed in a very short time. The prepared magnetically modified materials are stable in water for a long time, without the release of magnetic particles from the modified surface. Magnetic response of the resulting composites allows their simple separation using a permanent magnet. In addition, they have a character of composite nanozymes exhibiting peroxidase-like activity mainly due to the presence of iron oxide particles. The described method is a very efficient alternative to the previously developed magnetic modification procedures.