Synthesis of antimony oxide nano-particles by vapor transport and condensation

This paper reports the synthesis of Sb2O3 nano-particles by vapor transport and condensation of metallic antimony in oxidizing environment. Granular antimony inside an alumina crucible is placed in the middle of a tube furnace at 550 °C with air flow rate of 400 mL/min. Al foil, glass and Si-wafer, which are used as substrates, are placed downstream of the gas flow at a temperature of about 250 °C for the deposition of antimony oxide. The deposited antimony oxides on the substrates and the oxidized granular antimony in the alumina crucible are examined with field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometer and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The deposited antimony oxide consists of Sb2O3 nano-particles, while the oxidized granular antimony in the crucible consists of SbO2. The mechanism of the formation of Sb2O3 nano-particles is analyzed based on oxidation reaction thermodynamics and kinetics.