Synthesis and characterization of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles from different precursors and their catalytic effect on the thermal decomposition of nitrocellulose

Abstract

In this study, α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were successfully prepared by a simple and direct hydrothermal method using three different precursors (iron chloride, iron nitrate and iron sulphate). Structure and morphological characterization of the different nanoparticles have been investigated in detail by using a series of analytical methods including FTIR, Raman, XRD and SEM. The synthesized nanoparticles, predominately spherical in shape, have similar chemical structure, whatever the precursor employed. A higher crystallinity has been obtained for nanoparticles derived from iron chloride precursor, which present less agglomeration. The catalytic activity of as-prepared nanoparticles on the thermal decomposition of nitrocellulose (NC) was studied via differential scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Four isoconversional methods have been used to determine the kinetics triplets using the DSC data at different heating rates. It is revealed that the different nanocatalysts have a slight effect on the peak decomposition temperature of NC, whereas a notable decrease of the activation energy is obtained, especially for nanoparticles derived from iron chloride precursor. Finally, we can deduce that Fe2O3 prepared using iron chloride as a precursor may be safely used as an efficient catalyst for NC.