Synthesis and growth of hematite nanodiscs through a facile hydrothermal approach

This study reports a facile hydrothermal method for the synthesis of monodispersed hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanodiscs under mild conditions. The method has features such as no use of surfactants, no toxic precursors, and no requirements of high-temperature decomposition of iron precursors in non-polar solvents. By this method, α-Fe2O3 nanodiscs were achieved with diameter of 50 ± 10 nm and thickness of ~6.5 nm by the hydrolysis of ferric chloride. The particle characteristics (e.g., shape, size, and distribution) and functional properties (e.g., magnetic and catalytic properties) were investigated by various advanced techniques, including TEM, AFM, XRD, BET, and SQUID. Such nanodiscs were proved to show unique magnetic properties, i.e., superparamagnetic property at a low temperature (e.g., 20 K) but ferromagnetic property at a room temperature (~300 K). They also exhibit low-temperature (<623 K) catalytic activity in CO oxidation because of extremely clean surfaces due to non-involvement of surfactants, compared with those spheres and ellipsoids capped by PVP molecules.