Template-free synthesis of alpha-Fe2O3 hollow spindles.

Alpha-Fe2O3 hollow spindles was synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal treatment via a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-precursor route. Through controlling temperature, reaction time and the concentration of NaOH, we could get sphere, cubic, solid spindle and hollow spindle-like alpha-Fe2O3. The samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The magnetic research shows, the shape of the alpha-Fe2O3 nanostructure is important to their magnetic property. When the novel hollow spindle-like alpha-Fe2O3 was used as the photocatalytic material, they performed better than the solid structures.