Hydrothermal synthesis of single-crystal bismuth ferrite nanoflakes assisted by potassium nitrate

Abstract: Well-crystallized single-crystal BiFeO3 (BFO) nanoflakes have been successfully synthesized for the first time by the hydrothermal method assisted by KNO3. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), and physical property measurement system (PPMS). It was found that KNO3 played a key role in the formation of BFO nanoflakes. The as-prepared BFO nanoflakes were single-crystal in structure and showed super paramagnetic behavior at room temperature. It is expected that this process may be extended to the synthesis of other kinds of nanostructure materials, which will be beneficial to their detailed experimental investigation of the size- and morphology-dependent properties. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]