Research articlesControllable preparation of iron nanostructures and their magnetic properties

- Simple adjustable method has been achieved to control nano-Fe magnetic properties.
- Fe chains can be changed into particles under certain concentration of NaOH and PVP.
- Magnetic properties of Fe chains are influenced by particle size via dispersants.
- Coercivity and saturation of Fe chains is higher than that of Fe nanoparticles.

Iron nanostructures (chains and particles) were prepared by a simple reduction method. The effects of adding NaOH, PEG or PVP, changing c(Fe2+) can lead to different results of microstructure on iron nanochains/nanoparticles. The directional controlled preparation was researched. Their magnetic properties at normal (300 K) and low (5 K) temperatures have been measured, and influences of OH−, polymeric dispersant PEG/PVP, and c(Fe2+) have been investigated in detail. The magnetic properties of nanochains/nanoparticles were studied by controllable microstructure through the adjustment of sort of dispersant and ferrous concentration, which can accomplish the fabrication in accordance with magnetism applications.