Selective preparation of nanorods and micro-octahedrons of Fe2O3 and their catalytic performances for thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate

Nanorods and micro-octahedrons of α-Fe2O3 were selectively synthesized through one-step hydrothermal treatment of iron(III) chloride in aqueous formamide solution for different time. The resulting samples were characterized with XRD, FE–SEM, TEM, and FT–IR. It was found that monodispersed nanorods were 10–25 nm in diameter and 50–100 nm in length, while the octahydrons were 100–400 nm in size. These α-Fe2O3 nanorods and micro-octahedrons exhibited quite different catalytic performances on thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate. The nanorods significantly reduced the decomposition temperature of ammonium perchlorate, but the micro-octahedrons did not. This study provides alternative choice of good burning rate catalysts for composite solid propellants in solid fueled rockets.