Premium
Epsilon‐Fe 2 O 3 Nanocrystals inside Mesoporous Silicas with Tailored Morphologies of Rod, Platelet and Donut
Author(s) -
Li JhengGuang,
Fornasieri Giulia,
Bleuzen Anne,
Gich Martí,
ImpérorClerc Marianne
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
chemnanomat
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.947
H-Index - 32
ISSN - 2199-692X
DOI - 10.1002/cnma.201800266
Subject(s) - mesoporous material , materials science , porosity , nanocrystal , iron oxide , oxide , chemical engineering , nanocomposite , mesoporous silica , morphology (biology) , phase (matter) , nanotechnology , composite material , chemistry , metallurgy , catalysis , organic chemistry , engineering , biology , genetics
The ϵ‐Fe 2 O 3 polymorph of iron oxide, which has outstanding physical properties, is successfully stabilized inside mesoporous silica particles with tailored shapes. Using mesoporous silica particles with three different morphologies of rod, platelet and donut, we obtain ϵ‐Fe 2 O 3 /mesoporous silica nanocomposites. Iron oxide is loaded inside the porosity using a two steps impregnation cycle: solvent‐free impregnation followed by oxidation under 1000 °C. The amount of loaded iron oxide can be enhanced using two successive impregnation cycles. We fully characterise these nanocomposite particles with a wide panel of techniques to establish the exact amount of loaded iron inside the porosity, the nature of the iron oxide phase and the size of the nanocrystals. As a result, we conclude that ϵ‐Fe 2 O 3 nanocrystals can be confined and stabilized in all types of morphologies, even inside the donut morphology which possesses closed mesopores.