Single-microemulsion-based solvothermal synthesis of magnetite microflowers

Flower-like magnetite (Fe3O4) microstructures have been successfully prepared through a novel single-microemulsion-mediated solvothennal route at a relatively low temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were employed to characterize the samples. The time-dependent experiments were conducted to explore the growth mechanism. Room temperature magnetic measurement reveals that the as-obtained Fe3O4 flower-like structures possess a high saturation magnetization and exhibit a superparamagnetic nature, making them potentially useful in environmental and biomedical applications. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.