Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of monodisperse α-Fe2O3 nanocubes

Monodisperse α-Fe₂O₃ nanocubes with a mean size of 85 nm have been prepared by heating an aqueous solution of iron (III) nitrate in the presence of a certain amount of alkali without any additional organic reagents or templates in a hydrothermal route. The structure and morphology of the products were characterised by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The results have shown that the crystal morphology continually changes at higher temperatures and α-FeOOH was generated as the intermediate during the hydrothermal dehydration reaction. In addition, the optimum temperature and reaction time of the hydrothermal synthesis of these α-Fe₂O₃ nanocubes were 200°C and 5 h, respectively.