Air stable Fe nanostructures with high magnetization prepared by reductive annealing

Monodispersed Fe nanospindles and nanoparticles were successfully synthesized through environment-friendly reductive annealing β-FeOOH nanorods. Effects of annealing temperature and reaction atmosphere on microstructure, phase, and magnetic property of Fe nanostructures were investigated. The as-obtained pure Fe nanoparticles with mean size of 45 nm had a high saturation magnetization up to 207 emu/g, close to that of bulk material (218 emu/g), which exhibited high air stability. After exposing in air for 2 and 7 days, the as synthesized Fe nanoparticles still showed high magnetization of 182 and 141 emu/g, respectively.