Amino-acid-assisted synthesis and size-dependent magnetic behaviors of hematite nanocubes

This article reports the amino-acid-assisted synthesis and size-dependent magnetic properties of hematite nanocubes. The products were characterized using x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution TEM. The magnetic behavior of hematite nanocubes was studied using a vibrating sample magnetometer at room temperature. The sizes of hematite nanocubes were controlled by tuning the reaction parameters. The amino acid has double-hydrophilic functional groups, –NH2 and –COOH, which are utilized to control the growth and final size of hematite nanocubes. We show that utilizing biomolecules in chemical synthesis is a useful method for tailoring the physical properties of nanomaterials.