Facile synthesis of iron oxide with wormlike morphology and their application in water treatment

A novel and facile synthesis route for the manufacture of transparent and uniform nanocrystalline α-Fe2O3 (nc-Fe2O3) thin films and equivalent powders with wormlike morphology is reported, utilizing ferric nitrate as the inorganic source and triblock copolymer as the wormlike morphology-directing agent through the evaporation-induced assembly (EIA) method. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), ellipsometry, thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry (TG–DSC), Raman spectrum, N2-sorption and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to study the nc-Fe2O3 thin films and powders obtained by calcination at different temperatures. The nc-Fe2O3 powder samples showed an excellent ability to remove heavy metal ion (Cr(VI)) in water treatment. The possible formation mechanism of the nc-Fe2O3 with wormlike morphology was discussed.