  In view of potential applications of magnetic particles in biomedicine and
electromagnetic devices, we made use of the classical Stober method
base-catalysed hydrolysis and condensation of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) to
encapsulate FeNi nanoparticles within a silica shell. An original stirring
system under high power ultrasounds made possible to disperse the otherwise
agglomerated particles. Sonication guaranteed particles to remain dispersed
during the Stober synthesis and also improved the efficiency of the method. The
coated particles are characterized by electron microscopy (TEM) and
spectroscopy (EDX) showing a core-shell structure with a uniform layer of
silica. Silica-coating does not affect the core magnetic properties. Indeed,
all samples are ferromagnetic at 77 K and room temperature and the Curie point
remains unchanged. Only the coercive force shows an unexpected non-monotonous
dependence on silica layer thickness.
