Magnetic properties of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticle synthesized by a new hydrothermal method

Nanoparticles of alpha-Fe2O3 have been prepared using a hydrothermal synthesis method in aqueous-organic microemulsion under mild alkaline condition. The condensation reaction was optimized in the presence of a cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). It was found that the size and nature of the alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticle strongly depends on the pH, oxalic acid and CTAB as well as tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH, alkali source) concentrations. The uniformity of the particle size was checked by the transmission electron microscopy while the single phase of the nanocrystalline alpha-Fe2O3 was characterized using powder X-ray diffraction. The Mossbauer study exhibited a sextet pattern with internal field smaller than that of the bulk counterpart. The temperature variation of magnetization showed a broad maximum at around 125 K while the field-cooled effect of the magnetization showed the branching between the field cooled and zero field cooled magnetization up to 340 K. A large anisotropy has been observed from the analysis of magnetization curve as well as from the large blocking temperature. The estimation of the particle size from the magnetization curve was found to be in close agreement with the TEM results. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.