Optimizing the process of plasma dynamic synthesis for increasing the yield and purity of ε-Fe₂O₃ phase

Various crystalline modifications of iron oxide are widely used in different fields of science and technology, however, a special attention has recently been paid to the synthesis of the epsilon phase ε-Fe₂O₃. The existing problems connected with the synthesis and production of this phase in the form of a dispersed powdered product significantly limit the possibilities of its application and studying the properties. In this regard, the search and development of high-performance method for the synthesis of the ε-Fe₂O₃ phase is an urgent task. In this paper, the possibility of optimizing the well-known method of plasma dynamic synthesis for obtaining products with a high content of the ε-Fe₂O₃ phase was studied. The influence of the power supply pulse duration on the energy parameters of the synthesis process and the characteristics of the powdered products were studied in detail. It was established that an increase in the pulse duration due to the introduction of an additional inductance into the discharge circuit while simultaneously maintaining the magnitude of the arc discharge current at a level of 120 kA allows obtaining a product with the epsilon phase content of ∼ 65 wt.%. (paper)