Dr Colani Masina
Researcher and Lecturer
- 033 260 6563
- Masinac@ukzn.ac.za
- PhD, MSc, BSc (Hons), BSc
- Physics
- Pietermaritzburg Campus
Dr Masina is a materials physicist and his research interests lies on the synthesis of nanoparticles and characterization of these particles to explore their unique magnetic properties e.g. superparamagnetism. His type of research commonly utilize a suite of methods including: XRD, High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) and advanced techniques such as electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), Mössbauer spectroscopy, and Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) for magnetic properties measurements.
Dr Masina is currently a member of the South African Institute of Physics (SAIP) and a registered professional physicist (Pr Phys) with SAIP.
Research interests
- Materials physics
- Materials science
Research profiles
Current projects
- Synthesis and study magnetic properties of α-Fe2O3 and ε-Fe2O3 nanoparticles prepared by sol-gel method. ε-Fe2O3 are known to exhibit giant a coercive field of 20 kOe at room temperature.
- Synthesis and study magnetic properties of hard magnetic CoFe2O4 and soft magnet NiFe2O4 nanoparticles. These magnetic nanoparticles have attracted research and scientific attention due to their promising applications in biomedicine, as targeted drug delivery and in magnetic data storage.
Media
Room temperature Mössbauer spectrum of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles.
Room temperature hysteresis loop of ε-Fe2O3 nanoparticles displaying large
coercive field of ~16 kOe.