Synthesis of Fe(3)O(4)/PdO heterodimer nanocrystals in silica nanospheres and their controllable transformation into Fe(3)O(4)/Pd heterodimers and FePd nanocrystals.

The thermal annealing of silica nanospheres encapsulating Fe(3)O(4) nanocrystals and Pd(2+) complexes led to the formation of heterodimers consisting of Fe(3)O(4) and PdO nanoparticles encapsulated in a silica shell, allowing for their controllable transformation into either Fe(3)O(4)/Pd heterodimers or FePd alloy nanocrystals through a solid state reduction process.