SYNTHESIS AND PROPERTIES OF PYRRHOTITE ASH BASED CUBICAL α-Fe2O3 NANOPARTICLES

Pyrrhotite ash is a solid waste widely generated from phosphate industry has been used in the present research as a based material for α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles synthesis. The iron extraction conditions from Pyrrhotite ash using hydrochloric acid were carried out under the optimized conditions. The obtained FeCl3 was deployed in the elaboration of hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles using co-precitation method where green tea extract was deployed as a reducing and capping agent. The prepared α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, SEM, FTIR and BET technics. The prepared sample consists of cubical or spherical microporous nanoparticles with size ranging 56 to 116 nm and an average pore size of 0.78 nm. The elaborated nanoparticles are of high purity having a crystalline size at rage of 18.33-24.55 nm. The optical properties were investigated using UV–visible spectroscopy, the maximum visible light absorbance was observed at 350 nm while the corresponding gap band was determined as 2.11 eV. Furthermore, the Vibrating-sample magnetometer was used in order to examine the magnetic properties of the nanoparticles that appropriate a ferromagnetic behavior with high Ms, Mr, and Hc values of 14.59 emu/g and 4.72 emu/g -769.35 Oe.