Organic–Inorganic Hybrid (β-Fe3Se4)4[Fe(teta)1.5] (teta = triethylenetetramine) Nanoplates: Solution Synthesis and Magnetic Properties

Incorporation of distinct organic molecules and inorganic fragments into a single crystalline lattice of organic–inorganic hybrid magnets has aroused much attention for novel physical properties and applications. Yet, there has been no report on the discovery of ordered organic–inorganic hybrid magnets with room-temperature magnetism. Here, we report a simple chemical solution method for synthesis of new organic–inorganic hybrid magnets built by organic Fe(teta)1.5 and inorganic FeSex segments. By changing the reaction temperature, the size of these hybrid nanostructures can be tuned from 100 nm to 4 μm, and their shapes vary from nanoparticles and nanobelts to nanoplates. Selected area electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction reveal that hybrid (β-Fe3Se4)4[Fe(teta)1.5] nanoplates are a single phase in a tetragonal crystal structure with the space group I4cm (108). The thermal magnetic curve between 5 and 900 K was characterized using a vibrating sample magnetometer, revealing room-temperature ferrimagnetism of the (β-Fe3Se4)4[Fe(teta)1.5] nanoplates with the Curie temperature (TC) higher than 530 K. In the case of hybrid nanoplates synthesized at 483 K, a giant coercivity value reaching 11 kOe is obtained at 5 K. Our study not only provides guidance for developing a chemical solution method for controllable fabrication of a new class of organic–inorganic hybrid materials but also enhances the magnetic ordering temperature of such magnetic organic–inorganic hybrid materials to be higher than room temperature.