In situ synthesis of hematite nanoparticles using a low-temperature microemulsion method

A novel microemulsion method is described for the in situ synthesis of alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles with ferrihydrite as a precursor and trace Fe (II) as a catalyst. The final products are characterized by XRD and TEM techniques. The influence of various factors on the transformation from ferrihydrite to hematite nanoparticles is investigated. The effects of omega (omega = nH(2)O/nCTAB) and weight ratio of CTAB to n-octane on the size of alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles are also studied, respectively. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.