Solventless synthesis and characterization of α-Fe, γ-Fe, magnetite and hematite using Iron(III)citrate

Abstract The paper presents a method to synthesize α-Fe, γ-Fe, magnetite and hematite through solventless thermal decomposition technique using an organo-metallic compound iron(III)citrate in two different atmospheres (N 2 and O 2 ) at different temperatures and the characteristics of these products. The solid state thermal reaction has been monitored by non-isothermal thermogravimetry. The FT-IR spectra and powder XRD pattern of the decomposed materials reveal the type of materials formed and the SQUID measurements confirm those. Mossbauer spectroscopic study confirms the nature of magnetic structure of the synthesized materials. The SEM and TEM studies are used to study the shape and size of the particles formed. EDX technique has been employed to know the elemental composition. The solid state reaction processes involved in the synthesis have been proposed. The present study indicates that different types of iron/iron oxide particles in the range of nano-scale can be synthesized on thermal decomposition of iron(III)citrate depending on the decomposition temperature as well as the reaction atmosphere.