Introducing Materials Science: Experimenting with Magnetic Nanomaterials in the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory

Materials science research has expanded significantly
in recent
years; a multidisciplinary field, home to an ever-growing number of
chemists. However, our general chemistry degree courses have not changed
to reflect the rise in interest in this topic. In this paper, we propose
a laboratory experiment for the undergraduate chemistry practical
course, which may serve as a hands-on introduction to this field.
The experiment involves the synthesis and characterization of magnetic
materials via commonly employed techniques in materials science. Students
begin by producing three metal ferrite spinels using a sol–gel
combustion synthesis. They must then characterize the differing magnetic
properties across their three samples using a magnetic susceptibility
balance. In the second part of the experiment, students must create
a ferrofluid via coprecipitation, from which they may observe the
phenomenon of “spiking” in response to an external magnet.
Additional data such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and transmission
electron microscopy (TEM) images corresponding to these materials
are also provided, and students are tasked with the interpretation
of these data in their writeup report. Upon completion, students should
gain a new-found understanding of materials science and its fundamental
overlap with chemistry.