Synthesis of nanocrystalline iron oxide ultrathin films by thermal decomposition of iron nitropruside: Structural and optical properties

Abstract Ultrathin films of nanocrystalline α-Fe2O3 have been deposited on glass substrates from an inorganic precursor, iron nitropruside. This is a novel route of synthesis for iron oxide thin films on glass substrates, by annealing the precursor thin film in air at 650 °C for 15 min. The films were characterized using TG–DTA analysis, X-ray diffraction, UV–visible, FESEM, AFM and Raman measurements. X-ray diffraction and Raman analyses revealed that the deposited films contain α-phase of Fe2O3 (hematite). The synthetic route described here provides a very simple and cost-effective method to deposit α-Fe2O3 thin films on glass substrates with band gap energy of about 2.75 eV. The deposited films were found to show catalytic effect for the photo-degradation of phenol.