Experimental and theoretical study on the β-FeOOH nanorods: growth and conversion

This study presents an experimental and theoretical study on the growth of monodispersed akaganeite (β-FeOOH) nanorods with tunable aspect ratios (longitudinal to transversal) under mild conditions (80 °C, aqueous solution). The synthesis of β-FeOOH nanorods is highly influenced by the presence of salt ions, and thus, the effect of various anions (e.g., NO3 −, SO4 2−, F−, Cl−, and Br−) were investigated on the microstructure, morphology, and size of the nanoparticles. It was found that these anions could interact strongly or weakly with the FeO6 octahedral unit in the ferric oxyhydroxides, hence greatly affect the morphology, crystallization, and structure of the iron oxide/oxyhydroxide nanoparticles under the reported conditions. Moreover, these nanorods could be converted into magnetite (Fe3O4) through the reduction of hydrazine, which provides a new template approach to prepare magnetite nanorods with shape and size control at ambient conditions. The microstructure, composition, and structural transformation of the as-synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by various techniques, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM and HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The possible formation and growth mechanism of akaganeite nanorods were discussed. Finally, the influence of anions on the β-FeOOH(100), (110), and (001) surfaces was further understood by theoretical simulations (e.g., molecular dynamics method).