Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization and Application

Abstract

In this work, we present a review of the simple synthesis of iron(III)-oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3 NPs), their characterization and potential application as nanosorbents and voltammetric sensors. Fe2O3 NPs were obtained from Fe2+ and Fe3+ salts by the solid-state method and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The morphology and average size of Fe2O3 NPs estimated by TEM show that Fe2O3 NPs are spherical in shape with an average diameter of 3 nm. EDS qualitative analysis confirms the presence of Fe and O in NPs chemical composition. The potential application of Fe2O3 NPs was proposed as nanosorbents of heavy metal ions Pb2+ and Cd2+. Further, Fe2O3 NPs can be applied as voltammetric sensors due to significant selective electroanalytical signal amplification in determining Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions.