The selected-control synthesis of uniform
α-Fe2O3
nanoparticles with morphologies of rhombohedra, rods, and cubes was successfully achieved
in large quantities by the capping agent–cationic surfactant–CTAB-mediated hydrolysis of
FeCl3. The nanoparticles were obtained when the concentration of
FeCl3 ranged from 0.01
to 0.05 M at 120 °C. The
growth mechanisms of α-Fe2O3
nanorhombohedra, nanorods, and nanocubes were analysed in
detail, based on the topotactic transformation of the precursor
β-FeOOH with different morphologies under the capping agent mediation. The concentration of
FeCl3, the
reaction temperature, and the concentration of CTAB are all responsible for the final crystalline morphologies
of the α-Fe2O3
nanoparticles. This result may facilitate not only the exploration of controlled approaches of preparing
α-Fe2O3
nanoparticles for potential technical applications but also a deeper understanding of the
fundamental physical and chemical processes of hydrothermal methods. X-ray powder
diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission
electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and
field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) were used to characterize the
products.
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