Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Synthesis – (Fe₂O₃) by using Iron Chloride and Urea via Chemical Reduction Method followed by Thermal Treatment

Iron (III) Oxide (Fe₂O₃) Nanoparticles Synthesis by using Iron Chloride as precursor and Urea as reducing agent via Chemical Reduction Method followed by Thermal Treatment.

1. CHECK LIST

   Iron(III) chloride (FeCl₃), Urea (CH₄N₂O), Deionized Water, RB Flask, Dropper, Magnetic Stirrer with Temperature option, Centrifuge, Furnace.

   

2. STEP 1.

   Take 1g Iron(III) chloride in 50ml of water and set reflux temperature to 80°C.

   

3. STEP 2.

   Take 1g Urea in 50ml of water in another RB flask at room temperature

   

4. STEP 3.

   Add Urea solution (prepared in step-2) into Iron Chloride solution (prepared in step-1) and keep the reflux temperature to 80°C for 2 hours.

   

5. STEP 4.

   Add Zinc Nitrate solution (prepared in step-3) slowly in Aloe Vera gel (prepared in step-2) by dropper.

   

6. STEP 5.

   Filter out the precipitate, wash it with deionized Water and Ethanol several times to remove the unwanted impurities.

   

7. STEP 6.

   After washing and drying. Obtained powder is Calcined at 650°C for 2 hours to form the Iron Oxide (Fe₂O₃) Nanoparticles.

   

8. RESULTS

   Size of the formed Iron (III) Oxide (Fe₂O₃) Nanoparticles should be around 50 nanometers. Size can be reduced upto 15nm by using Microwave heating (read Factors Affecting Synthesis for more information).

   

9. Factors Affecting Synthesis

   Concentration of Urea: Higher the concentration of Urea smaller the size of Nanoparticles.
   Calcination Conditions: It was observed that if powder is calcined in Microwave for 5 minutes instead of conventional heating then size of the Nanoparticles reduces to 15 nanometers.

10. NOTE: All the experiments should be done under the guidance of lab Incharge; and proper lab safety instructions.