Synthesis of Mesoporous Iron Oxide Nanoparticles From Mesoporous Silica Template via Nano-Replication

Highly ordered mesoporous iron oxide (α- Fe 2 O 3 ) material has been successfully obtained from mesoporous silica template, KIT-6 (3-D Cubic Ia3d symmetry), through nano-replication method. The mesoporous α- Fe 2 O 3 material thus obtained exhibits well-defined mesopores (2.7 nm in diameter), high surface area (148 m 2 /g), high pore volume (0.47 cm 3 /g) and crystalline frameworks. The morphology of the mesoporous α- Fe 2 O 3 material is very uniform in spherical shape of which the average particle size is about 100 nm in diameter.