SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF IRON OXIDE HOLLOW SPHERES
hollow nanometer spheres, iron oxide, hard-template
In the present work we present a new route for the manufacture of hollow spheres of 142 ± 9 nm in diameter formed by iron compounds (α-Fe2O3). The new route is based on the methodology described by Yoshikawa who combined with a proposal from Kobayashi using polystyrene nanoparticles (PS) as a template. Transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and UV-Vis analyses indicate that our intermediate system (core-shell particles) is formed by iron hydroxide (α-FeOOH) with a layer of 25 ± 4 nm supported on PS particles. At a later stage, the spheres were separated from the PS mold to form a spherical heatite shell with some traces of alpha iron hydroxide. The detection of this crystalline phase was possible using X-ray diffraction combined with Raman spectroscopy.