Tunable monodispersed Fe3O4 nanoparticles prepared by controlled two-step heating method using diesel oil as solvent

Abstract

Monodispersed magnetite nanoparticles were prepared by two-step heating method, using cost-effective diesel oil as solvent. Monodispersed magnetite nanoparticles with variable sizes from 3 to 20 nm in diameter could be synthesised by selecting distilled fractions of diesel oil with different reflux temperatures. The small nanoparticles are hexagon, whereas the 20 nm nanoparticles are square or triangle. The particle size could be further enlarged by once or twice seed-mediated growth method, using the previous prepared magnetite nanoparticles as the seeds. This is meaningful to the mass production of the monodispersed magnetite nanoparticles, as well as other metal oxide, in a cost-effective way.