Synthesis and magnetic properties of hollow α-Fe2O3 nanospheres templated by carbon nanospheres

Hollow α-Fe2O3 nanospheres were synthesized by using novel carbon spheres as templates. By carefully controlling the fundamental experimental parameters, porous nanospheres with diameters of 60–80 nm and nanojujubes with diameters of 80–100 nm have been efficiently obtained, respectively. The growth mechanism and magnetic properties are also discussed in detail. The coercivity values of the hollow α-Fe2O3 nanospheres and nanojujubes are much higher than those of other α-Fe2O3 nanomaterials. Due to the unique morphology with cavum and porous wall, the ferromagnetic nanospheres could be promising candidates as a magnetic carrier for drug targeting.

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