Synthesis and characterization of Fe2O3 by sol-gel method / Noor Hasibah Ridzuan

The single phase of Fe203 has been prepared by the sol-gel method. The powders are synthesized using Iron (III) nitrate nonahydrate, Fe(N03)3.9H20 as the starting material, absolute ethanol as the solvent, and ammonia as the gelling agent. All the sol-gel products were annealed at 300°C, 500°C, and 700°C for 6 hours and 24 hours respectively. The annealed products were characterized by Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) to find the thermal behavior, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) to find the structural properties, and to characterize the morphology by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The effects of annealing time and annealing temperature on the phases and structural properties of Fe203 were investigated throughout this study. The thermogravimetric analysis provided insight into the decomposition process of the Iron (III) nitrate nonahydrate. The XRD analysis indicates that all the products were of the rhombohedral lattice. Besides that, the particle sizes of Fe203 were increased due to the increase of annealing temperature and annealing time. The morphology of Fe203 was nanosized.