A study on the methods for making iron oxide aerogel

Abstract Iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ) aerogel powders were prepared by solvent exchange method using n -butanol without a supercritical fluid drying. The obtained aerogel powders have a porosity of 94%, a BET specific surface area of 421.1 m 2 /g, and an average pore size of 7.9 nm. The aerogel powders possessed a BET specific surface area of 51.8 m 2 /g even after calcination at 500 °C for 2 h despite the effect of pore shrinkage and particle coagulation. Initially, the Fe 2 O 3 aerogel was amorphous, but some parts of it were changed to a crystalline structure after heat treatment.