Near monodisperse Fe
3O
4 sub-microspheres with an average diameter of 170 nm have been synthesized by a solvothermal reduction method, using K
3[Fe(CN)
6] as the raw material in the absence of any surfactants at 200°C for 24 h. The products were detected by XRD, FESEM, TEM,
and XPS. The investigation of the reaction parameters indicates that ethylene glycol plays a key role both as reducing agent
and solvent. In addition, the reaction time and temperature also have important influences on the final product. The hysteresis
loop of the near monodisperse Fe
3O
4 sub-microspheres shows a ferromagnetic behavior with saturation magnetization of 60.8 emu/g and coercivity of 124.7 Oe.
Keywords solvothermal - sub-microspheres - morphology - saturation magnetization
Supported by the Start Fund for Advanced Professional of Jiangsu University of Science and Technology (Grant No.35060810)
and Jiangsu University (Grant No.07JDG017)