Preparation of superhydrophilic α-Fe2O3 nanofibers with tunable magnetic properties

The paper describes a simple, effective method for producing α-Fe2O3 nanofibers by electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol)/ferrous acetate composite nanofibers precursors and high-temperature calcination in air. The experimental results show that the morphology and crystalline phase of α-Fe2O3 nanofibres are influenced by the content of ferrous acetate in composite nanofibres and the calcination temperature. The α-Fe2O3 nanofibres can generate superhydrophilic surface displaying the contact angle of water as 0°. By controlling the calcination temperature of electrospun composite nanofibers in the air, the magnetic property of α-Fe2O3 nanofibres could be tuned from superparamagnetic to ferromagnetic.