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

In this paper, smooth α-FeO 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-FeO nanotubes showed a continuous morphology and an extremely high degree of crystallization. The average inner and outer diameters of the obtained α-FeO nanotubes were about 60 nm and 100 nm, respectively. The obtained α-FeO 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]