Processing and Characterization of Iron Oxide Nanoparticle Produced by Ball Milling Technique

In this study iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanoparticle samples was prepared using mechanical grinding method. The optical properties were studied using UV-Vis spectrophotometer within a range of 200-1100nm. The micro and crystalline size of the nanoparticle were studied using x-ray diffractometer (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The compositional analysis was carried out using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS). Observation of the electrical properties of the nanoparticle was carried out using an electrical four-point probe system. The XRD pattern in the 2θ range from 20 to 700 revealed that iron oxide had a rhombohedral structure. The SEM result showed that the nanoparticles were well dispersed and had a uniform crystalline structure. The EDXS results showed the elemental analysis of the nanoparticles under consideration. Iron oxide nanoparticles had elemental composition of oxygen, iron, titanium and carbon. The atomic and weight concentration of iron was 14.19 and 30.89%. The four-point probe electrical resistivity result shows that iron oxide nanoparticles had a sheet resistance of 9.8x106Ώ/sq. The optical result made it known that iron oxide nanoparticles possessed a high transmittance, also iron oxide nanoparticles displayed a low reflectance and moderate absorbance.  Finally, the bandgap energy of Fe2O3 dispersed in ethanol was found to be 2.74 eV. The Band gap of Fe2O3 dispersed in distilled water is 2.98 eV.