AVS 56th International Symposium & Exhibition
    Nanometer-scale Science and Technology Monday Sessions
       Session NS+BI-MoM

Paper NS+BI-MoM6
Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Fe-O Nanonetworks

Monday, November 9, 2009, 10:00 am, Room L

Session: Nanowires and Nanoparticles I
Presenter: G.C. Franco, University of Texas at El Paso
Authors: G.C. Franco, University of Texas at El Paso
C.V. Ramana, University of Texas at El Paso
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Iron (Fe) oxides and hydroxides have been the subject of numerous investigations for many years. Fe oxides and hydroxides find application in chemical catalysis, magneto-electronics, energy storage and conversion, and nuclear industry. The properties and phenomena of these materials are influenced by the morphology and size. The present work is performed to grow high-quality and ordered structure Fe oxides by simple wet-chemical method at a relatively low temperature. Fe oxides and hydroxides have been prepared in aqueous media by precipitation of iron nitrate and ammonium hydroxide. Their growth and structural characteristics have been investigated using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM). The approach is preparing different solutions of Fe particles in suspension and acetic acid at different concentrations and subject to heat treatment at 100 °C. XRD analyses indicate that the solids obtained from aqueous stage exhibit goethite (α-FeO(OH)) with average particle size 2-3 nm, while the samples with acetic acid addition shown hematite (α-Fe2O3) with average size ~20 nm. HRSEM images confirm the presence of particles ~100 nm in samples with no acetic acid. HRSEM indicate that the samples with acetic acid exhibit nanoparticles ~20 nm with small spots within the particles. In addition, SEM shows the presence of net-shaped structures and particles with high-dense porosity within the nano-regime depending on the concentration of acetic acid. The experiments also confirm that Fe oxide nano-particles and networks are stable to a temperature of 500 °C. The results obtained on the growth, structure, and properties of the grown Fe-based nanomaterials will be presented and discussed in detail.