As-Prepared Single-Crystalline Hematite Rhombohedra and Subsequent Conversion into Monodisperse Aggregates of Magnetic Nanocomposites of Iron and Magnetite

TLDR: Monodisperse nanocrystalline rhombohedral composites of Fe and Fe3O4 magnetic materials have been obtained employing a reduction reaction, in a flowing gas mixture of H2 and N2, of single-crystalline, submicron-sized α-Fe2O3 rhombohedra precursors as mentioned in this paper.

Abstract: Monodisperse nanocrystalline rhombohedral composites of Fe and Fe3O4 magnetic materials have been obtained employing a reduction reaction, in a flowing gas mixture of H2 and N2, of single-crystalline, submicron-sized α-Fe2O3 rhombohedral precursors This synthesis is significant in that we were able to create a nanocomposite with hard and soft magnetic phases juxtaposed within one discrete, anisotropic structure In turn, the precursor hematite rhombohedra of reproducible shape were successfully prepared using a facile, environmentally friendly, large-scale molten-salt reaction Rhombohedra represent a high-surface-area, anisotropic formulation of an industrially important material (iron oxide), which is an active component of gas sensors, photocatalysts, and other types of catalytic materials Moreover, the predictive formation of these materials has been investigated through a systematic variation of experimental parameters Extensive structural characterization of as-prepared samples has been performed