A facile surfactant-free fabrication of single-crystalline truncated Fe3O4 cubes

Single-crystalline truncated Fe₃O₄ cubes with active basal facets have been successfully fabricated through a facile surfactant-free hydrothermal route. The presented materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), selection area electron diffraction (SAED) and magnetic property measurement system (MPMS). The results showed that all products are Fe₃O₄ with face-center-cubic (FCC) structure. The morphology of Fe₃O₄ depends on the contents of hydroxide ions, hydrazine hydrate and reaction time. The well-defined truncated Fe₃O₄ cubes with active basal facets {1 0 0} were fabricated when the pH value, the hydrazine hydrate content and reaction time are 10, 10 mL and 24 h, respectively. The as-prepared Fe₃O₄ cubes exhibit excellent magnetic properties, which endow the materials with great potential applications in many fields.