The Influence of Electron Irradiation on the Stability of α-Fe2O3 Nanoparticles to Natural Aging Processes

The influence of the modification of α-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles by electron irradiation on their stability to natural aging processes during a long-term (three years) storage has been studied. Nanoparticles of this type (obtained by chemical vapor deposition with subsequent thermal annealing) were chosen due to the wide range of their practical applications. The changes in the properties of α-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles during natural aging, depending on the irradiation dose, were investigated by X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy. It is found that modification by electron irradiation provides stability of α-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles to hydration processes and phase transformations during a long-term storage; an increase in the irradiation dose increases the resistance to structural disordering during aging, thus retaining the nanoparticle properties for a long time.