Solvothermal Clustering of Magnetic Spinel Ferrite Nanocrystals: A Raman Perspective

The one-pot formation of colloidal nanocrystal clusters has recently gained attention due to the new set of phenomena that such secondary structures are endowed with. Nevertheless, given the number of complex processes at play, the correct interpretation of the chemical mechanisms behind the formation of such structures remains a particularly difficult task. In the present work, magnetic colloidal nanocrystal clusters with a spinel structure are thoroughly characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, magnetic measurements and Raman spectroscopy. The combination of these techniques results in a means to unravel the structure of the poorly crystalline intermediates and complex products formed throughout the process. Our results suggest that the chemical and crystallographic transformations undergone by the nanostructures at the different stages of the reaction are strongly related with the final morphology of the secondary super-structures obtained, which in parallel, help ...