Magnetic nanoparticles based on iron coated carbon produced from the reaction of Fe2O3 with CH4: a Moessbauer study

In this work, it was investigated the production of magnetic nanoparticles encapsulated with carbon by the reaction of hematite and methane by Temperature Programmed Reaction up to 950 deg. C. XRD and Moessbauer analyses showed that the materials prepared at 600 deg. C and 700 deg. C are mainly composed of magnetite and small amounts of hematite α -Fe2O3 with particle size of 30-40 nm. At higher temperatures, the spectra also display two central doublets corresponding to wuestite phase (Fe1-xO). The materials were also characterized by magnetization measurements, BET surface area, thermal analysis (TG) and SEM. These materials can be prepared by a simple and low cost process and show great potential to be used as adsorbents and catalyst support.