Facile synthesis of ultrathin magnetic iron oxide nanoplates by Schikorr reaction

In this work, a very facile one-pot hydrothermal synthesis approach has been developed for the preparation of ultrathin magnetite nanoplates. The hydrothermal procedure was performed by aging ferrous hydroxide under anaerobic conditions, which is known as Schikorr reaction. Ethylene glycol (EG), which was introduced to the reaction as another solvent, played a critical role in the formation process of these nanoplates. Typically, hexagonal Fe3O4 nanoplates with a thickness of 10 to 15 nm and a side length of 150 to 200 nm have been synthesized with EG/H2O = 1:1 in experiments. Our data suggest that the thickness of Fe3O4 nanoplates decreases, and the shape of the nanoplate becomes more irregular when the concentration of EG increases. The as-prepared Fe3O4 nanoplates were highly crystallized single crystals and exhibited large coercivity and specific absorption rate coefficient.