Characteristics of Sb2O3 nanoparticles synthesized from antimony by vapor condensation method

Abstract Sb 2 O 3 nanoparticles with an average size of approximately 80 nm were synthesized by vapor condensation method. The characteristics were investigated by means of TEM, XRD, differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy. The exothermic peak temperature for the nanopowder is lower than that of the micropowder, its reactive temperature span is narrower and oxidizing exothermic heat is larger due to the nano-sized effect. XPS analysis shows that a few amount of antimonies are still in metallic states as the interstitial antinomy atoms in the nanoparticles. The interstitial atoms may be mainly responsible for the red shifts (3–6.4 cm −1 ) of the characteristic peaks in the Raman spectrum.