Sustainable Method for the Large-Scale Preparation of Fe3O4 Nanocrystals

In this work, a facile synthetic process is reported for the large-scale synthesis of Fe3O4 nanocrystals. Thermal decomposition of Fe(acac)(3) (100 g) in 1-hexadecanol produced Fe3O4 nanocrystals with well-controlled sizes and morphologies. The nanocrystals were spherically shaped with average diameters of 7.8 +/- 0.6, 6.5 +/- 0.4, and 5.9 +/- 0.2 nm when prepared at 300 degrees C, 270 degrees C, and 250 degrees C, respectively. Mechanisms of crystal formation were elucidated on the basis of gas chromatographymass spectroscopy analysis, enabling the large-scale preparation of Fe3O4 nanocrystals. To provide an environmentally benign route, Fe3O4 nanocrystals were prepared with recycled solvent which was recovered from the initial experiment. The resulting porous Fe3O4 nanocrystals had larger average sizes than those of the initial nanocrystals. Structural characterization was performed using transmission electron microscopy and powder X-ray diffraction.