Low temperature preparation of β-LiFe5O8 fine particles by hydrothermal ball milling

Lithium ferrite, β-LiFe5O8, fine particles with a 100–120 nm size were successfully prepared by hydrothermal ball milling at the low temperature of 170 °C for 2 h without any post annealing. The lithium ferrite fine particle formation was confirmed by characterization using XRD, SEM, XPS and magnetization measurements. perimental results strongly support the idea that ball milling can accelerate the reaction not only between the solid and solid phases but also between the solid and liquid phases. We believe hydrothermal ball milling can open a new era for the low temperature synthesis and fabrication of homogeneous fine particles both in composition and size.