Preparation of monodispersed α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles by a hydrothermal synthetic route

Monodispersed alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles modified by sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) surfactant and assisted by glycerol have been successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal process using FeCl3 center dot 6H(2)O as the starting precursor. These nanoparticles possess good crystallinity and have an average particle size of 100 nm. The as-prepared products are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer. SDBS and glycerol played an important role in controlling the final morphology of the products. Magnetic hysteresis measurements reveal that monodispersed alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles exhibit normal ferromagnetic behaviors with the remanent magnetization and coercivity of 0.2389 emu/g and 2339.0 Oe at room temperature.