Hydrothermal deposition of small α-Fe2O3 (hematite) particles on ordered zirconium phosphonate multilayer SAMs on gold

Abstract

We present the use of self-assembled monolayers of Zr-phosphonate multilayers (bilayers in terms of metal atoms) as substrates for the heterogeneous nucleation of hematite under hydrothermal conditions. The phosphonate multilayers display high (hydro)thermal stability which we establish beforehand. The films of the hematite nanoparticles have been characterised using techniques including atomic force microscopy and Mössbauer spectroscopy in reflection. This latter technique shows up the effect of the small particle sizes of the hematite particles on the nature of the magnetic ordering.