Crystal splitting in the growth of β-FeO(OH)

beta-FeO(OH) (akaganeite-Q) nanostructures with a sheaflike morphology are obtained via the hydrolysis of FeCl3 solutions at different temperatures. The individual filaments have an average diameter of similar to 60nm, and the sheaves are similar to 3.2 mu m in length at 80 degrees C for 10 h. These structures may be formed by the splitting crystal growth mechanism, which is known to explain the morphology some mineral crystals present in nature. By control of the synthetic parameters, different morphologies are obtained, complex sheaf structures have also been found which have been observed to occur by crystal splitting in minerals. These new beta-FeO(OH) structures are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.