Hydrothermal synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of one-dimentional rod-like hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) mineral in alkaline medium

Rod-like α-Fe₂O₃ was synthesized by hydrothermal method and characterized using spectroscopic methods of analysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), elemental diffraction X- ray (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) methods were used to characterize the synthesized mineral. XRD analysis shows that the single-crystalline sample indexed as the pure rhombohedra α-Fe₂O₃ material was formed while the DLS and zeta potential analysis indicated average particles sizes of about 1300.9 nm and 31.2 mV respectively. The morphology and shape of the synthesized mineral was studied with FESEM and TEM while the elemental analysis was done with EDX. FESEM and TEM analysis show that the synthesized α-Fe₂O₃ minerals were rod-like in shape while EDX analysis gave a good composition of the elements of the synthesized material. Therefore, this method may be applied to synthesize other forms of iron minerals or other inorganic materials at industrial scale especially when rod-like materials are needed.