Ionic liquid-assisted solvothermal synthesis of oriented self-assembled Fe3O4 nanoparticles into monodisperse nanoflakes

Abstract

Self-assembled Fe3O4 nanoflakes have been synthesized via an ionic liquid-assisted solvothermal method. The obtained Fe3O4 nanoflakes are composed of well-aligned nanoparticles with an average diameter of about 15 nm. More importantly, the ionic liquid [C16mim]Cl (1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride) plays a critical role for the self-assembly of nanoparticles into nanoflakes by adsorbing onto the surfaces of the primary Fe3O4 nanoparticles.