Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles and investigation of electrical properties of fabricated thick films

Abstract

In this work, α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized by using a simple Pechini sol-gel method from iron nitrate, citric acid as complexing agent and ethylene glycol as polymerization agent. The calcined α-Fe2O3 NPs were fully characterized by different techniques. It was confirmed that ultrafine and highly crystalline α-Fe2O3 NPs with high purity and mesoporous nature can be obtained after calcination at 550 °C for 3 h. In addition, results of electrical resistance measurements of the fabricated Fe2O3 thick films showed that α-Fe2O3 thick films have stable electrical properties which are beneficial for electrical applications such as gas sensing and field effect transistors.