Electrochemical Preparation and Characterization of α/γ-Fe2O3 Nanoparticles

α-Fe2O3 (hematite), an environmental friendly n-type semiconductor (Eg=2.1 eV), is the most stable iron oxide under ambient atmosphere. Because of its low cost, high resistance to corrosion,and environmentally friendly properties, this transition metal oxide has been traditionally used ascatalysts, pigments, gas sensors, electrode redox reaction at the electrode materials, and as the raw material for the preparation of magnetite (Fe3O4) and maghemite (γ-Fe2O3), which are ofgreat importance as a ferrofluid and in magnetic recording materials [1]. Many efforts have been directed to the controlled preparation of nano or micro structural α-Fe2O3 to improve their properties and performance in application [2,3].In this work, α,γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were synthesized via electrochemical deposition followed by heat-treatment method. The prepared products were characterized by XRD and SEMtechniques (Fig. 1). XRD analysis revealed that the prepared sample has both α and γ phases ofFe2O3 (Fig. 1a), and SEM observation showed that the sample has particle morphology at nanoscale (Fig. 1b).

Keywords:

Fe2O3 , Electrodeposition , Nanoparticles , Heat-treatment