In situ synthesis of hematite nanoparticles using a low-temperature microemulsion method

A novel microemulsion method is described for the in situ synthesis of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles with ferrihydrite as a precursor and trace Fe (II) as a catalyst which does not require any calcination step. The nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that the size of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles was influenced by ω (ω = nH2O / nCTAB) and weight ratio of CTAB to n-octane.