One-pot synthesis of grass-like Fe3O4 nanostructures by a novel microemulsion-assisted solvothermal method

Well-defined grass-like Fe3O4 nanostructures have been successfully synthesized via a novel and facile microemulsion-assisted solvothermal method. The resultant Fe3O4 products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The effects of various reaction conditions on the morphology and structure of Fe3O4 products were investigated. The results show that the reaction temperature, the concentration of KOH and the reverse microemulsion system play important roles in governing the final product. The hysteresis loops of the grass-like Fe3O4 nanostructures were measured at room temperature, the superparamagnetic signature emerged with the saturated magnetization of 65.5 emu/g.