Fe3O4 polyhedral nanoparticles with a high magnetization synthesized in mixed solventethylene glycol–water system

Abstract

We report a solvothermal approach for the synthesis of high-magnetization Fe₃O₄ polyhedral nanoparticles in the ethylene glycol (EG)–H₂O system. In this approach, ferric chloride (FeCl₃·6H₂O) is used as the iron source, and EG acts as both the solvent and reductant in the presence of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and dodecylamine (DDA). The presence of deionized water plays an important role in the control over the size of Fe₃O₄ particles. The Fe₃O₄ particles prepared are well dispersed with single-crystal-like features, showing superparamagnetism with a high saturation magnetization close to that of bulk Fe₃O₄ (92 emu g⁻¹). The stability of the Fe₃O₄nanoparticles in deionized water is also investigated.