Preparation of α-Fe2O3 nanotubes via electrospinning and research on their catalytic properties

In this paper, smooth α-Fe₂O₃ nanotubes have been successfully synthesized by electrospinning of ferric nitrate–polyvinyl alcohol solution followed by calcination in air. The morphologies and structures of the samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The catalytic properties were studied by differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. The results indicated that the as-prepared α-Fe₂O₃ nanotubes showed a continuous morphology and an extremely high degree of crystallization. The average inner and outer diameters of the obtained α-Fe₂O₃ nanotubes were about 60 nm and 100 nm, respectively. The obtained α-Fe₂O₃ nanotubes were able to lower the temperature of the high-temperature thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate, while they had little effect on the crystallographic phase transformation and the low-temperature thermal decomposition.