Effects of the addition of mango residue on solution combustion synthesis of iron oxides.

The effects of the addition of mango residue on the combustion of iron nitrate–urea mixtures are presented herein. The process was performed considering two systems: open (porcelain capsule) and closed (round-bottom flask), both with and without the addition of the residue, thus resulting in four different products. Thermogravimetric techniques (thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis) were used to assess the thermal behavior of the precursors, X-ray diffraction, Mossbauer spectroscopy and spectrometry in the infrared region with Fourier transform to analyze the influence of the synthesis parameters on the structure of the products, scanning electron microscopy, surface area, and porosity analysis, to analyze the morphology and textural properties of the samples. The addition of mango residue to either system caused changes in the combustion process, iron oxide phase, morphology, textural properties, and, particularly, the specific surface area in the closed system-produced material, in which a significant increase was observed. Thus, the addition of mango residue in the combustion synthesis of iron oxides can increase the added value of waste materials, thereby producing favorable economic and environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]