Investigation of Solvothermal Synthesis and Formation Mechanism of Fe₂O₃/C Microspheres

CZU 662.7

In this research we report a one-step method to fabricate Fe₂O₃/C microspheres by using the rolling scales oxides via the solvothermal approach. The thermal gravimetric Analysis (TGA) experiment was carried out in order to determine the amount of carbon in the synthesized samples. Only Fe₂O₃ peaks could be observed from X-ray diffractometry patterns; the carbon in the composite was amorphous. The content of the carbon in the composite was calculated to be about 72 wt.%. After annealing at 800°C, scanning electron microscopy images showed that the surface of microspheres was rather smooth and their diameters were in the range of 1–3.5 μm. The investigation of Fe₂O₃/C microspheres formation mechanism revealed that Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles are homogeneously distributed in the carbon matrix.

Keywords: microsphere, solvothermal approach, Fe₂O₃, carbon, electrode.