Influence of the silica based matrix on the formation of iron oxide nanoparticles in the Fe2O3–SiO2 system, obtained by sol–gel method

Composite iron oxide–SiO2 materials were prepared by a sol–gel method starting with two types of precursors, tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and methyltriethoxysilane (MTEOS), as the SiO2 source. As the iron source a soluble Fe2+ salt, mainly Fe(SO4)2·7H2O, was used, the iron oxides were generated during the sol–gel process. The amorphous gels obtained were thermally treated up to 1000 °C in order to obtain iron oxides with different structures and grain size. The initial gels and the thermally treated samples were characterised by DTA/TGA analysis, DR-UV–VIS and IR-spectroscopy, EPR measurements, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and BET surface area methods. The matrices obtained from the precursors play a major role in the evolution of the process. In both cases the initial gels are amorphous. In the non-porous matrix obtained by thermal treatment using methyltriethoxysilane (MTEOS), the tendency for crystallisation increases, and the iron oxide particle size is increased.