ε-Fe2O3 nanoparticles synthesized in atmospheric-pressure microwave torch

The article reports on epsilon -Fe2O3 nanoparticles synthesized in a single step by atmospheric-pressure microwave torch discharge using gaseous precursors only. Morphology and composition of the as-synthesized nanopowder were studied by HR-TEM, XRD, and Mossbauer spectroscopy. In the studied nanopowder, epsilon -Fe2O3 phase (d XRD=25nm, 32wt%) together with alpha -Fe2O3 and gamma -Fe2O3 phases was found. The characteristic epsilon -Fe2O3 and alpha / gamma -Fe2O3 sextets in the Mossbauer spectra measured at 293 and 5K confirmed the phase composition of the powder. Compared with the methods currently used for the synthesis of epsilon -Fe2O3 nanoparticles, atmospheric-pressure microwave torch discharge appears as a new synthesis route for obtaining epsilon -Fe2O3 nanoparticles.