Abstract:
The cube Fe3O4 microcrystals have been synthesized through a simple hydrothermal reaction of FeSO4 ·7H2O with KOH in 1,2-propylene glycol at 200 ℃ for 24 h. The factors affected the morphology of Fe3O4 ,such as the proportion of 1,2-propylene glycol, the concentration of KOH, and the reaction temperature,were experimentally investigated.The results showed that the concentration of KOH has a significant effect on the formation of Fe3O4 cube. The possible mechanism was also proposed to account for the growth of the cube Fe3O4 microcrystals.The morphology and structure of the microcrystals were characterized with scanning electron microscopy and powder X-ray diffraction,indicating that the Fe3O4 octahedra is single crystals with the face-center cubic structure and 1 μm in size.