Synthesis and Characterization of Ceramic Nanoparticles System Based on Anatase-Doped Hematite

The xTiO2-(1−x)α-Fe2O3 ceramic nanoparticles system has been obtained bymechanochemical activation for x = 0.1 and 0.5 andfor ball milling times ranging from 2 to 12 hours.Structural and morphological characteristics of the anatase-dopedhematite system were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD),Mössbauer spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) combined with electron diffraction (ED). In the XRDpatterns, we could evidence the dissolution of anatase inhematite, more pronounced for x = 0.1. The Rietveldstructure of the XRD patterns yielded the dependence of theparticle size and lattice constants on the amount xof Ti substitutions and as function of the ball milling time. Forx = 0.1, we observed line broadening of theMössbauer resonances and corresponding fit with severalsubspectra. For x = 0.5, it can be observed that thecentral doublet corresponding to superparamagnetic particlesbecomes more prominent. The ball milling route allowed us to reachnanometric particle dimensions, which would make the materialsvery promising for catalytic and gas sensing applications