Cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide assisted hydrothermal growth of hematite hollow cubes

Hematite hollow cubes have been prepared by forced hydrolysis of ferric chloride solutions under hydrothermal conditions. The effects of reaction time, reaction temperature and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide on the transformation process from akageneite to hematite were investigated in detail. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. It is found that cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide was a critical factor influencing the phase transformation process of akageneite and the final morphology of the as-prepared products. With cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, hematite hollow cubes and porous spheres were obtained. Otherwise only dense cubes were observed even prolonging reaction time or increasing reaction temperature. The mechanism was proposed.