Sintering of nanoparticles of α-Fe2O3 using gelatin

We have demonstrated in this work that single phase of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticle can be prepared using gelatin. It was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) technique, gas sorption technique (BET), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The nanoparticle was obtained from an aqueous solution of gelatin and FeCl3 · 6H2O, as Fe source, annealed in the temperature range of 200–600 °C for 12 h. The mean particle size of this powder measured with XRPD is about 100 nm and this size agrees well with TEM experiments. Also, the TEM result shows agglomeration that was confirmed by BET technique. These results show that gelatin could be an alternative organic precursor to produce metal oxide powders with nanometer dimensions.