Thermal decomposition synthesis of 3D urchin-like α-Fe2O3 superstructures

Urchin-like alpha-Fe2O3 superstructures have been deposited on Si substrate using thermal decomposition FeCl3 solution at 200-600 degrees C in the oven. The morphologies and structures of the synthesized urchin-like superstructures have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that urchin-like alpha-Fe2O3 superstructures were a polycrystal with the rhombohedral structure and typical diameters of 16-20 nm and lengths up to 1.0 mu m. The as-prepared alpha-Fe2O3 superstructures have a high Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of about 60.24 m(2)/g. The photoluminescence spectrum of the urchin-like alpha-Fe2O3 superstructures consists of one weak emission peak at 548nm (2.26eV). A possible new mechanism for the formation of the urchin-like superstructures was also preliminarily discussed. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.