Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of monodisperse α‐Fe 2 O 3 nanocubes

Monodisperse α‐Fe 2 O 3 nanocubes with a mean size of 85 nm have been prepared by heating an aqueous solution of iron (III) nitrate in the presence of a certain amount of alkali without any additional organic reagents or templates in a hydrothermal route. The structure and morphology of the products were characterised by X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and eld‐emission scanning electron microscopy. The results have shown that the crystal morphology continually changes at higher temperatures and α‐FeOOH was generated as the intermediate during the hydrothermal dehydration reaction. In addition, the optimum temperature and reaction time of the hydrothermal synthesis of these α‐Fe 2 O 3 nanocubes were 200°C and 5 h, respectively.