Green synthesis of hematite (α-Fe2O3) submicron particles

Iron oxide microparticles have been synthesized through a green technique using hydrogen peroxide under sunlight irradiation. The X-ray powder diffraction measurement shows that these particles are hematite (α-Fe2O3). The microstructure and particle size were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. The magnetic characterization shows the presence of Morin transition at about 258 K, which is very close to the normal value (263 K) of bulk hematite. These hematite particles show typical antiferromagnetic behavior at low temperature and weak ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature