Mesoporous flower-like α-Fe2O3 nanoarchitectures: Facile synthesis and their magnetic and photocatalytic properties

Abstract Mesoporous flower-like α-Fe2O3 nanoarchitectures composed of nanoparticles were successfully prepared by direct hydrothermal decomposition of Fe(III)–EG gel in aqueous solution without using any template or surfactant. Results from X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed that the as-prepared products were pure hematite without any impurity. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses indicated that the as-prepared products exhibit flower-like nanoarchitectures with a diameter of about 0.15 μm built from several dozen nanoparticles with average diameter of 30–60 nm. Furthermore, investigations on the effects of reaction conditions showed that almost all the products display flower-like nanoarchitecures and show diameter from 120 to 160 nm at different heating temperatures and reaction times. Moreover, results of magnetic and photocatalytic analysis revealed that the as-prepared α-Fe2O3 microflowers had ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature and showed enhanced photocatalytic activity for degradation of methyl orange (MO).