Enhanced control and production rates for a green continuous flow synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles: a comparative study of ethylenediamine additives

Abstract

Scalable synthesis of precise magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) with controlled properties remains a key challenge for applications in biomedical technologies, data storage, and environmental remediation. Bioinspired additive-driven methods offer greener, tunable synthesis routes, but often suffer from low production rates and limited scalability. Here we demonstrate that our green co-precipitation synthesis with ethylenediamine additives, using continuous static mixing, offers exceptional particle control along with a staggering theoretical production rate of up to 311 g per day, representing a fivefold increase over previously reported methods. This study presents a comprehensive comparison of five ethylenediamine-based additives — EDA, DETA, TETA, TEPA, and PEHA — across three systems: batch, millifluidic, and continuous static mixing. All five additives robustly enhanced octahedral particle morphology (38–84% faceted), compared to the control (no additive, 32% faceted), with a longer chain additive showing the greatest morphological control. These results suggest favourable binding of ethylenediamines to the [111] face of magnetite. This inherently scalable system offers a viable path to industrial-scale, shape-tuned MNP production. TEPA emerged as a standout additive, later refined in a Design of Experiments (DoE) study. While that study focused on a single system, our broader screening establishes critical parameters across additives and synthesis modes, laying the foundation for future optimisation of green, scalable MNP synthesis.