Synthesis and design of ferro- and ferrimagnetic NPs: size and shape control in wet-chemistry synthesis

Ferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic nanoparticles (NPs) represent one of the most investigated nanomaterial, due to their unique properties and to their wide range of applications like biomedicine, environmental remediation, electromagnetic shielding and other electronic applications (i.e. sensing). Most of the physico-chemical properties of magnetic NPs depends critically on their morphology, therefore in order to design suitable magnetic NPs for a specific application, it is mandatory to achieve a good control not only of their chemical composition, but also of their size and shape. The chapter describes the main wet-chemistry synthesis of magnetic NPs reported in literature. It will focus on the recent development of methods able to control of the size and the shape of the magnetic NPs, highlighting the key parameters able to influence the morphology at the nanoscale. In particular, the chapter will present the methods to control size and shape of magnetic NPs composed of metal, metal alloy and ferrimagnetic iron oxides.