Preparation and structural characterization of nanostructured iron oxide thin films

Nanostructured iron oxide thin films were prepared using a dip-coating tech nique by forced hydrolysis of a FeCl3, solution with 2% gelatin at 60 degre es C. The structural properties were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS ) and UV-Vis absorption measurements. XRD analysis revealed that the iron o xide in the films consisted of alpha-Fe2O3, AFM showed that the Fe2O3 parti cles in the films were relatively uniform in size and XPS showed that there was little carbon on the surface and that the Fe2O3 fully covered the Si s ubstrate. The particle sizes can be easily controlled through the pH of the solution. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.