Magnetic properties of hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles prepared by hydrothermal synthesis method

Hematite (alpha-Fe2O3) nanoparticles are successfully synthesized by using the hydrothermal synthesis method. An X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) of the sample shows formation of the nanocrystalline alpha-Fe2O3 phase. A transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements show spherical morphology of the hematite nanoparticles and narrow size distribution. An average hematite nanoparticle size is estimated to be about 8 nm by TEM and XRD. Magnetic properties were measured using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry. Investigation of the magnetic properties of hematite nanoparticles showed a divergence between field-cooled (FC) and zero-field-cooled (ZFC) magnetization curves below T-irr =103 K (irreversibility temperature). The ZFC magnetization curve showed maximum at T-B = 52 K (blocking temperature). The sample did not exhibit the Morin transition. The M(H) (magnetization versus magnetic field) dependence at 300 K showed properties of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION). The M(H) data were successfully fitted by the Langevin function and magnetic moment,up = 657 tu and diameter d= 8.1 nm were determined. Furthermore, magnetic measurements showed high magnetization at room temperature (M-S =3.98 emu/g), which is desirable for application in spintronics and biomedicine. Core-shell structure of the nanoparticles was used to describe high magnetization of the hematite nanoparticles. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.